Down the Dragon's Nest
by ObscureAuthorBrendan
Summary: Liz and Kirito take on the quest for Crystalline Ingot and spend a night Down in the Nest, but what if a few things happened differently? What if Asuna didn't interrupt Liz's confession? Or if Kirito really heard Liz? Read how their spark turns into something greater than either expected! Main pairing is KiritoxLiz, rated M to be safe. I don't own Sword Art Online, nor the photo.
1. Sparks on a Snowy Mountain

**Hey, guys! It's ObscureAuthorBrendan! Since my _Beater and the Black Cats _story is doing fairly well, I thought I'd make an attempt to expand my audience with a second story covering a new pairing: Kirito and Lisbeth. Personally, I think that the pairing is really underrated, so I thought I'd add to the few stories written on the pair. A rather large part of chapter was was taken pretty much straight from Episode 7, but I added a few subtle changes up until my point of diversion from the canon. I don't own any part of Sword Art Online, unfortunately (merchandise counts, right?). The series belongs not to me, but its well-respected owners. On with the story!**

**EDIT 21 July 2016: I've gone through and made a few edits in June, but hadn't had the time to update them to their corresponding chapter. On top of my edits, All'Round Cowgirl is doing me a big favor by reading over the chapters and letting me know what I missed. A big thanks goes out to her! **

* * *

**24 June 2024  
Floor 55, Western Mountain**

"Ahh..! It's beautiful!" The pink-haired blacksmith exclaimed as she admired her many reflections in the large, silver crystals. There were many clusters for at least a hundred meters around us. One particular cluster directly ahead of us towered twenty meters over everything.

_Dear God, she almost looks like a child… Wait, who are you to be talking? You were only 14 when this God-forsaken mess started._

"Ah, hey! What's your problem?!" She snapped as I grabbed her hood to keep her from running off.

"You should get your teleport crystal ready. We don't want any surprises," I told her, completely unfazed by her tone.

"Hmm… Alright., alright, I'm doing it…"

"And I'm handling this next part on my own. Once the dragon appears, you're going to hide behind one of the crystals over there. Don't come out no matter what."

"Oh come on! I'm not a noob! If I wanna help you, I'll darn well-"

"Just do what I say!" I exclaimed harsher than I intended to. She flinched at the sudden outburst.

_Come on, Kirito… You have good intentions, so show her._

She nodded silently, still visibly shaken.

"Good," I said with a reassuring smile and a pat to her head. "Okay, let's keep going."

Shortly after I started moving towards the towering cluster, a deafening roar erupted, shaking the ground beneath us.

"Hurry up and take cover!" I shouted, pointing to a set of nearby crystals.

Soon enough, a large, white dragon emerged from the main tower, stretching its wings as it took flight.

_X'yrphan the White Wyrm_, its display name read. Three health bars rotated into view right next to it.

_All right, let's see what you've got._

An inaudible scream came from Lisbeth's direction as a blue orb formed at the X'yrphan's opened mouth, releasing a blue burst stream.

_Just like the blue-eyed version in that old card game._

Just before the beam could hit me, I charged and released a Horizontal skill, redirecting the beam nearly ninety degrees to the right, turning dozens of crystals into shrapnel with a _boom._

_Come on, is that all you've got?!_

Once I recovered from the recoil, I went on the offensive and released skill after skill on the mini-boss, quickly wearing down its HP. Before long, his first health bar was depleted, so I put some distance between us and waited for a new attack pattern. Sure enough, X'yrphan flew away, then turned back in my direction, probably looking to slash at me with one of his ten razor-sharp claws. Seeing an opportunity, I charged a Sonic Leap, then waited for him to come within range. As soon as he came close enough, I released the skill on his left arm, severing the limb at the shoulder.

"Come on! Quit playing around with it and finish it off already!" Lisbeth called while coming out of cover.

_Shit, what's she doing?! _

"Damn it! Don't come out!"

Suddenly, the white wyrm turned his attention from me to Liz. With a strong flap of his wings, he sent tons of debris and snow in an avalanche rolling to her. Despite her efforts to avoid the wave, the avalanche caught up to her and dragged her along with it.

_Crap! Please stay alive!_

As soon as I landed, I used a mound of debris as a launch pad to jump towards the blacksmith to begin the rescue. _I'm __not_ _letting another party member die on me!_

To make matters worse, she was carried over the edge of a large, deep opening in the ground along with tons of snow and debris. To get to her faster, I made my body straight as an arrow and held my sword along my leg. A few seconds into the fall and I was able to spot Liz, who seemed rather busy giving off a high-pitched scream.

_Just… a… little… farther… Yes!_

"Hang onto me, Liz!" I screamed as I pulled her into an embrace. Now that she was in a vice grip, I got the Elucidator and stabbed it into the wall to slow us down. There was hardly a difference at first, but after a few seconds we began to decelerate considerably. We headed closer and closer to the bottom, falling too quickly for a soft landing, even after significantly slowing down.

_Crap, we might not make it at this rate! There's only one thing I can do that might help…_

Before we got close to the bottom, I rolled us over so that Lisbeth's back was towards the sky, and that's when I felt a truck ram into my back and saw everything fade to black…

"A-are we still alive..?" I muttered when I finally came to. I took a look at my HP gauge to see about 30% remaining.

_Man… my head hurts… hell, _everything _hurts… There's no chance we would have survived that in real life… _

"Yeah, it looks like it…" Lisbeth answered, obviously shaken up.

_At least I took a bulk of the damage, otherwise she might not have made it… _

"Drink one of these just in case," I instructed as I materialized to high-level restoration potions. I handed one to Liz and kept the other for myself, and slowly but surely, our HP went back to green.

"Thank you… you know, for saving me…"

"It's a little too soon for any thanking," I began as I looked around. The hole we fell in was a near-perfect cylinder with a base of about ten meters, and an astonishing height. "We have to find a way to get out of here first."

"Can't we just teleport out?" Liz suggested as she pulled out a blue prism. "Teleport, Lindas! No way!"

She sighed when nothing happened.

"Well, if we can't teleport, there should be another way out." I stood up and took another look around.

_Wait, what if I…?_

"How can you be so sure there is? I mean, what if this is some kind of trap meant to kill anyone who falls into it?"

"Good point. Maybe it is," I concurred.

"Hmm! Would it kill you to at least _try _to cheer me up?!" she snapped.

_Idiot, it's not going to work… _

"I think I have an idea."

"Really?"

"Yeah, we could try running up the wall."

"... you're insane…"

"Maybe, but it's all I got for ideas right now." Without a second thought, I began a full-on sprint to one of the sides, jumped, and began running up the wall.

_Come on, you can do it! Just… a… little… _

_**SLIP**_

_Oh shit…_

"Wwwwwoooooooaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh!" I screamed as I fell back to the bottom

_**THUD**_

_Aww man, what the hell did I land on?!_

"Ugh…" I groaned as I pulled myself out of the swordsman-shaped hole in the snow. "If I had more of a running start, I would've made it…"

"Yeah… I don't think so…"

"Oh shut up!"

Since it was early evening when I began fighting the dragon, the sun had set shortly after my meager attempt at escaping. I materialized some basic cookware from my inventory along with a few ingredients and began working with my virtually (hahaha…) nonexistent cooking skill to make dinner. We talked a bit as we ate, with me telling stories of the frontlines and her talking about how crazy fans would get over her.

"Wait, so some customers would spend hours at your shop and have you upgrade _all _their armor?!"

"Yup. One customer even had me repair his starting armor. You know, the set everyone got when they first logged on?"

"Wow. The things some guys would do to be around a girl…" I sighed.

"Mm hmm," she nodded, "on the bright side, that probably means I'm well-known among a lot of players. It's a real headache sometimes, though."

"Oh yeah? Try having everyone who knows your name treat you like crap everywhere you go."

"What do you mean?"

"Oh, nothing…"

_I don't want another person giving me hell for being in their presence. I never learned what she thought of the whole 'Beater' issue._

"Oh, okay… Hey, it's getting a little cold and pretty late… Do you think we should get some sleep?" Lisbeth asked, rubbing her arms for warmth.

"Yeah, that's probably a good idea. Do you have a sleeping bag?"

"Umm… well… no…" She answered shyly with her head down.

"Why don't you have a bag? Don't you go with your customers to get materials every now and then?"

"Well yeah, but that would never take more than a few hours…!"

"Okay then, hold on a second." I navigated through my menu and materialized a lantern and two sleeping bags.

"Here you go. I'm sorry if you're not a fan of the color, but it's what I have."

"Thanks, Kirito… But why do you have two sleeping bags?"

"For emergencies. Since the sleeping bags count as clothing, the durability runs out for a while, so there's that. In this case, I'm partying with a player who doesn't have one. It's the first time the latter happens, though." She nodded in response.

We set up the two sleeping bags rather quickly about a meter away with the lantern in the middle. A light snowfall managed to find its way into the hole/trap/whatever the hell this thing is and land all around us. We were both on our backs looking up to the sky, waiting for sleep to take over us.

"You know, it's kind of weird, isn't it?" Lisbeth began, breaking the silence. "This wouldn't happen in real life. You know, going to strange places, meeting a total stranger, then falling asleep next to them. I mean, you actually tried running up a wall!" She continued with a giggle. "You really are a weirdo, you know that?"

"Well, excuse me," I said as-a-matter-of-factly. I didn't really know how _that _ended up happening. As for the part about sleeping near a 'stranger'...

"Kirito, can I ask you something?"

"Ask away, I'm all ears."

"Why did you risk your life to save me?" She asked as she sat up.

I took a moment to think of a good response.

"I can't just sit back and watch somebody die; I'd rather die alongside them than do nothing. Especially if that person's somebody like you, Liz." A smile spread across my face when I finished.

She returned the smile before responding. "Wow, you really are an idiot. You're the only person who'd think that."

_I don't know about that, Lisbeth. It wouldn't be hard to think of people who would do anything to be where I am right now. _

"Hey… Hold me…? I-I'm feeling pretty cold over here…"

_Wait, what?! First she calls me an idiot, then she asks me to go and hold her? Come on, Kirito, she doesn't mean it like that; she said she was cold._

"I-I'm sorry?" I turned to the blacksmith as I asked. _I need to make sure I heard that right. _

"Can you… hold me? I'm feeling pretty cold… and I just…" *sigh* "You don't have to if you don't want to…"

She began turning away, interpreting my silence as rejection.

"Hey, hey, it's fine; it's no problem at all," I said reassuringly, sitting up to adjust the sleeping bags.

Once we found a way to 'combine' the two items, I materialized an extra blanket for added protection. Lisbeth and I then crawled inside to figure out a way to make it work. At first, it was a bit awkward when I tried holding her, but with time we were both able to get comfortable. The final result: Lisbeth on my right side, my arm and shoulder acting as her pillow while our free arms wrapped around the other.

_This feels a lot better than I expected it to be… _

"Ah… it's so warm… even though you and me are a bunch of ones and zeroes in this virtual world…"

"I know, I responded. "Good night, Lisbeth. Sleep tight, and have yourself a good dream."

"You too, Kirito. Night…"

I closed my eyes and tried falling asleep, but before I could enter Dream Land, Lisbeth's voice broke the silence.

"You know, when I first learned that we couldn't escape, I never thought I'd fall asleep in the arms of a stranger…"

_Wait, is she talking to conscious Kirito, or does she think I'm asleep? I guess I'd better listen and find out. _

"Damn it, Liz.. Don't do this… It's just a quest. Once we get out of here, I'll probably just make his sword and never see him again…"

_Wow, okay… Let's just pretend that those words didn't sting like hornets._

"But he's not one of those creeps who's completely infatuated with me. If he wanted to try something, he would've by now." *sigh* "It's weird, though… Despite hardly knowing him, I can't help but feel so safe and warm in his arms…" She loosened her grip as her words died away.

"Good night, my swordsman." I felt a pair of lips peck my cheek before I heard her continue. "I'm sorry, but I just felt like doing that.. As a thanks for everything. Sleep tight."

I waited for her to return her head to my shoulder before I opened my eyes and tried to process what happened in the last few moments. First, the girl who I teased (probably a bit excessively) asked if I could hold her for the night since she was cold. Next, she concludes that I'm not some random creep and that she'll never see me again. Finally, she kisses me and calls me hers. Damn, girls can be really confusing.

_Oh shut up and enjoy it, Kirito. At least she's not making it hell for you on the snowing mountain for you._

I yawned, and without thinking, I tightened my grip on Liz and drifted off to sleep.

* * *

*yawn* _Morning already?_

I looked over to the girl next to me to find that she was still asleep.

_Wow… she looks so… peaceful… Well, now to find a way out of here._

After the short setback of Lisbeth's sleeping death grip, I got up and put my bag away, then tucked the dormant player into hers.

_Ahh… what to do, what to do… Well, I could try running up the wall again. No, that wouldn't work… I could try something I saw in a video game. After all, that is what this world is._

I thought back to the time one of my uncles came over for one holiday and brought with a really old, cube-shaped console. With it came a relic from 2002 set in the fictional land of Isle Delfino, with an Italian plumber eager to absolve himself of a crime he didn't commit. Anyway, in some parts of the game, the overall-wearing character would scale great heights when surrounded by two parallel walls by jumping on the face of one, kicking off to the other side, and repeating until he reached the top.

_Could that work? Hell, why not? If a heavy-set man could do such a thing in 2002, why wouldn't it work for an able-bodied, overpowered player in 2024? _

I used the room I had for a running start - a proper one, I might add - and made the first jump. As soon as I hit the three meters above the bottom, I kicked off and went to the opposite end. I was able to do this successfully until I made it about a third of the way up.

_Come on! Keep it up! You're making progRRRESSSSSSSSSS!_

_**THUD**_

_Aww crap… my ankle is killing me! Damn it! I just _had _to find the one spot where the side was too slippery! At least I didn't land on Liz… that would have been a heck of a rude awakening. I needn't worry about my health, since the ten or fifteen percent lost would recover in a few minutes. But what did I land on? _

I looked down in the new hole I made and started searching for the source of my throbbing pain. A few minutes later, I came across the thing I landed on. It was about the size of an American football, but was almost shaped like a cone. It was too hard to be ice, and couldn't have been a crystal, since the brittle nature would've caused it to shatter. Due to my inadequate Appraisal skill, I had to use deductive reasoning to figure out what this _thing _is.

_Okay, this isn't a trap, since no mobs have bothered showing up. The Devs, as sadistic as they are, wouldn't put a huge freaking hole in the ground without good reason. So what in the hell would this be? The dragon's nest, perhaps? If that's the case, then what would this be? _I suddenly thought back to what Lisbeth told me in the store: '_The dragon eats local crystals, and the metal is found in its stomach.' Then that makes this…_

"Whatcha doing?" Lisbeth suddenly asked from behind.

_When did she get up?_

Without a word, I showed her the bluish-white cone I dug up.

"I-is this what I think it is?" She pulled up an appraisal window. 'Crystallite Ingot' was the name of the item.

"Mm hmm. It's that special metal we came all the way here for. Like you said, the dragon eats crystals, and then they turn into this in its stomach. Haha, it's no wonder they were hard to find." I laughed as I tossed her the material.

_Let's see how she reacts to this. _

"Yeah, but you found it. What's it doing down here, though?"

"This hole isn't a trap like we thought. It's the dragon's nest."

"Yup. And that's not just an ingot. It's dragon excrement. You know, poop."

She looked back and forth at me and the ingot a few times before she made the connection.

"Uh? Ahh!"

I caught the ingot as she threw it in the air in disgust.

"Well, I guess that means we got what we came for. We're still stuck, though."

"Wait, this is supposed to be the dragon's nest, right? 'Cause dragons are nocturnal, so it won't be long before it comes… down…"

We both looked up at the nest's opening as her words died down. Sure enough, the same dragon I nearly killed yesterday showed up, arm missing and all.

"It's here!" She wailed. Acting quickly, I scooped Liz up on my shoulder, drew my Elucidator, and started running up the wall. This time, instead of falling, I did a backflip off the rock and ice and onto the White Wyrm.

"Hang onto me, Liz!" I screamed as I stuck my blade into the dragon's upper back. With a roar, X'yrphan began flying back to the top, leaving me struggling with the grip as Liz started screaming.

Once we cleared the entrance, the dragon made an abrupt stop. Thanks to a law of motion written by dear Sir Newton, Liz and I continued skyward at neck-breaking speeds. To avoid separation in the free fall, I reached out to Liz.

"Hey, Kirito! You know what?!" Lisbeth screamed over the wind as she took my hand.

"No! What?!" I called back.

"Please don't freak out, but I think I'm falling in love with you!"

_Wait, did I just hear her correctly?! _

"I can't hear a thing! What did you say?!"

She pulled me into a tight embrace before responding. "Nothing! Never mind!"

Before we came close to the ground, I pulled out a teleport crystal and sent us back to Lindas. Once there, she was awfully quiet en route to her shop; I guess she was trying to make sense of the last 24 hours. As soon as we entered the shop, the NPC clerk checked out for his break and walked out the door.

_Where in the world is he going? I can't imagine NPCs have anything better to do. Ah, whatever. _

We went to the back of her shop where she lit up the forge and started working. I sat back and watched Liz work her magic.

"One-handed longsword, right?"

"Yup. And make it awesome!"

She equipped her work gloves and smithing hammer, then started striking the white-hot ingot. A few dozen strikes went into the rare metal before it started shining in a brilliant light. For a few seconds, the two of us were blinded before the luminescence died down. Resting on the table in place of the ingot was an almost translucent, bluish-white sword. Liz tapped on the sword and opened its appraisal window, then started reading off the basics.

"Its name is 'Dark Repulsor' - one of a kind. And it's not even in the Info Broker's Directory. Got ahead and try it out!" She told me as she closed the appraisal window.

"Okay!" I picked up the sword and swung it around a few times. The weight was perfect, length was better than expected, and it feels about as strong as my Elucidator. It looks like all the trouble we went through for the materials was well worth it.

"Good…?" She asked after my last swing.

"It's really heavy; it's perfect!"

"Yes!" Lisbeth cheered.

"I couldn't ask for a better sword; it's almost like you forged your soul into it!" I admired. It's a good thing Klein recommended her to me, since just about any other smith would've screwed up in making it. As soon as I bought a scabbard for the blade, my mind suddenly shifted to the price.

_Oh crap! The price! She's probably going to charge me an arm and a leg, and then some, for all the trouble and teasing… Oh let's just get this over with… _

"All right, you held up your end of the deal, and now it's time for me to pay up. How much do I owe you for the sword?"

_75,000? 85,000 for the troubles?_

"Ummm… well… I don't really need any money. Instead, I'd like to become your exclusive blacksmith from now on…"

"What do you mean by 'exclusive'?" I asked. When she looked like she had trouble speaking, I asked her if anything was wrong.

"Nothing's wrong… I mean, anytime you get back from the front lines, come straight over here and let me do maintenance on your gear. Every day without fail! From now until the end."

My face grew a few shades of pink when she finished voicing her request. _That means she wants me here at least once per day until the game is cleared.?_

"Liz… I…"

"Kirito… I-I just…" She reached for my hand and took it in hers, then threw her arms around me and held on tight.

"Hey, what's wrong, Lisbeth? Are you just recuperating from yesterday?" I asked her, returning the hug. It's not unusual for me to see a delayed reaction from somebody who nearly died in-game. I've even battle-hardened clearers would cry their eyes out in the days after a nasty boss fight.

"In a way…" she began, resting her head on my shoulder. "There's something I need to say, but I'm terrified of what'll happen if I say it…"

"Don't worry, I won't think less of you regardless of what it is. I'll tell you what: you tell me what's on your mind, and I'll tell you something you didn't know about me."

She looked up and gave me a curious look. "Hmm… maybe… But you have to go first, and I get to ask the question."

_What ever happened to 'Ladies first?'_

"You know what? Ask away!"

"Why did you get a second sword when you already have one of the strongest ones in the game?"

_Well damn, I didn't see that coming. Here I was thinking she'd ask what my real name was, or perhaps another personal detail. But a man's word is all he has._

*sigh* "I'll tell you, but you have to promise not to tell anyone until I'm fine with it."

"I wasn't planning on gossiping with that, but I promise I won't tell anyone!" She responded.

I nodded my head, stood up from where we were sitting, then began navigating through my menu.

_Player Profile_

_Skills_

_Dual Blades_

I clicked on the unique skill, and another window popped up.

_Activate? (O) Yes (X) No_

*sigh* _Is it worth it? Well, it's probably about time I told somebody about it anyway. Besides, she already promised she wouldn't tell anyone else. _

With another sigh, I selected 'Yes' and picked up both swords.

"What are you doing? I thought you were gonna tell me?"

"You'll know the answer, but it's easier to show you." I made sure to keep an eye on her as I moved a few meters away.

_Okay, here goes nothing!_

"Double Circular!" I commanded after I got into position. The next instant, the two swords glowed with a brilliant blue light as the blades made their semi circle from eye level to the floor. I stood with the swords in their final position for a few seconds before turning to the blacksmith. "Well, there you have it; I can use sword skills with two blades equipped."

"H-how?! The system doesn't allow a player to equip two weapons at once, let alone use sword skills with them!"

"Well, it's a skill I obtained about a month ago. It just kinda showed up in my list. Since I didn't complete a quest or anything to obtain it, I never told anyone about it. It's already bad enough that most of the people I encounter hate me, so I can only imagine how those and others would feel when I tell them that I've got no clue how to get the skill. You really won't tell anyone…?"

"Trust me, Kirito… I won't tell anyone…"

"Thanks… it really means a lot. Well, it looks like it's your turn now! So what was on your mind? If it's something that bothers you that much, you shouldn't bottle it in," I told her. Her face went back to shy and fearful.

"You just don't get it… Since this game started, I've just been waiting for each floor to be cleared until the Assault Team reached the end. I was always too scared to face the toughest monsters, and so I knew I wouldn't be any help to the clearers; I'd only get myself or somebody else killed. With that option gone, I decided to pick up blacksmithing so I wouldn't spend my time rotting in some cheap inn back in the Town of Beginnings."

_Where's she going with this?_

"And… so… to help the time in-game be livable, I tried making friends, but nobody could make this world feel real. Either they would try to lower me to their level of cowardice, or they had less depth than any given NPC." A few tears started running down their face as she talked. Without thinking, I rushed over and put a comforting arm around her.

"Kirito… Please don't freak out over this, but… I think.. I think I might be in love with you… It's weird, right? We've only known each other for a day and you're hearing stuff like this from a girl you barely know… It's okay if you reject me… I wouldn't blame you at all, but… I don't think I could've lived with myself if I felt that way, kept from telling you, then found you with another girl on your arm later on. Whenever I'm around you, I feel like I can be _myself _around you. Despite my reactions, I kind of liked being teased by you. Even when you had me hold the… you know. Looking back on it, I enjoyed every second we spent together. You're the first person I fell in love with both in this world and the real one. I don't blame you if you don't want me… I know there are other girls in the game who you'd probably be happy to be with, not to mention anyone on the outside who might be waiting for you." She turned her head again and started crying a little harder.

_Okay, I thought she might have a crush or something based on the whole 'My swordsman' thing and her kissing my cheek, but I never would've expected her to feel _this _strongly for me. Damn it, what do I do? Of course, I think she's very cute and likeable (then again, so do about 95% of her customers), fun to be around, and wants to be my personal smith despite my reputation. _

I felt a stab of guilt pierce my chest.

_Damn it, Kazuto! Why do you have to do this? How much of a jerk are you being? Here she is pouring out her feelings for you, and you've got nothing to say back. Though you didn't ask for the situation, you need to do a better job of handling it!_

"Liz… I honestly have no clue what to say." _Really?! That's all you have?! There's gotta be something you can do to cheer her up… _I pulled her in for a hug and turned her to face me. "I can't say I didn't know about feelings, but I just didn't know they ran as deep as you declared them. Honestly, there's a lot I like about you: you're sharp, determined, friendly, caring, and very pretty. The thing is that I'm just afraid of getting close to anybody… I'm a solo player because I don't get along with people too well. And the last time I got really close to people, I made a major promise that I couldn't keep. Since then, I've kept mostly to myself. Even though I was really used to the solo lifestyle, I really enjoyed our time on the quest. Before falling into the nest, I thought it'd be better to just die and this world instead of fight to survive day in and day out. But… when we landed in the bottom -safely, might I add- I was really happy that we were both still alive. I realized that our lives here have as much meaning as they would in the real world. I wanted to thank you for helping me come to that," I finished.

_Oh no… she's still looking pretty sad… Well, there's probably _one _thing you can do…_

I took a moment to plan out my actions and hope for the best. Without wasting a moment, I pulled her close, kissed her on the cheek, then held her shoulders at arm's' length.

"That was for last night. Since you mentioned it: no, there isn't a girl waiting for me on the other side, so there's nothing to worry about in that regard. Maybe in time, I'll be your swordsman, but I'm not quite ready to have a close connection to somebody yet."

Her face instantly turned a dark shade of pink at my actions and words. "W-what do you mean by that..?"

"I'm sorry, Liz. I was still awake when you kissed my cheek and called me your swordsman. It's how I figured that you had some feelings for me. Well, I'll be back in an hour or two!"

"Y-you… wait, where are you going.?" She asked in a longing tone as I headed for the door.

"To the highest dungeon. I need to go put the two best swords in Aincrad to good use so I could have my exclusive blacksmith maintain them!" I answered with a smile.

"Oh, right… Hold on a second, not so fast!" She came up and grabbed my coat sleeve.

"What is it?"

"I need to repair your Elucidator first! You only fought a dragon, stabbed it into a rock and ice wall, then stabbed it into a dragon's back! If you so much as drop that thing, we'll have to go back and get the stuff to make you a new sword!"

"So you'd have a problem with going back down the dragon's nest? I got a feeling that you'd enjoy some more time like that!" I teased.

"It's not that.!" She started violently blushing again. "I'm not ready for another escapade like that, nor am I going to let you get careless with your gear!"

"All right, Lizzzzzzzbeth. If you think you need to repair the blade, I'll have you do that." I smiled again, handed her the sword in its scabbard, then followed her down into her forge room.

_You know, she's right. You really are an idiot._

* * *

**Author's Note: There you have it! I hope you enjoyed! If you did, don't forget to leave a follow or favorite (or perhaps both?), and head on to the next chapter! If there's something you liked, disliked, or want to see later on, don't hesitate to leave a review or PM me. Have a good one!**


	2. You and Me

**Author's Note: Hey, everyone! You guys are probably thinking "Hey! The idiot author actually updated the story!" or "Damn it! Not this story again!" or probably something in between. Yes, I'll be continuing the story. A big "Thank you" to the 19 followers and 14 people who've favorited for holding out and waiting patiently for a new update, I'm sure you guys strongly hate that it took me a pretty long time to put chapter 2 up. Honestly, this one was pretty challenging (and fun) to write, since I have almost nothing to go off of. I just wanna say a big thank you to Serge Ta'Null for giving me some great ideas for chapter 2; it would've been even more difficult for me to write the chapter if he/she hadn't suggested anything.**

**I'll see you guys at the bottom!**

* * *

**17-July-2024  
Floor 48, Lisbeth's Smith Shop  
16:36**

The bell rung as I walked in the door of the Bavarian-style building known as Lisbeth's Smith Shop. Considering the time of day, I was surprised at how few players there were in the shop, since this is usually the busiest time for her.

_I can't believe that idiot had the nerve to do that! He barely made the minimum level requirement to join the assault team, and he's already trying to throw his weight around!_

"Liz? You here? I'm here to get my weapons repaired," I called out as I looked around at the display cases. Of the dozens of times I've visited, I've always been astonished at the variety if items she has for sale. Everything from throwing knives to daggers to maces, and the list goes on. It's not only looks that make her extremely popular in Aincrad.

"Hey, well get in line, buddy, she's busy with my equipment right now," A male player spat as he crossed his arms. He was maybe a few centimeters shorter than me, but had a more muscular build. The armor he wore reminded me of a European knight, except for the fact that he had no helmet.

_No need to be a jerk about it. Wait, he looks familiar..._

I leaned against one of the display cases and waited a few minutes before Lisbeth finally came out of the back. She walked behind an antique-style cash register behind the main counter, and the Euro Knight stood across from her.

"Okay, that'll be 5,000 col for the upgrades and repairs," she said as she opened the trade window.

"What?! It wasn't even half of that earlier today!" The player exclaimed as he threw his arms out to his sides.

"Sorry, but that was before you came the extra half dozen times," Lisbeth shot back, refusing to back down.

"Fine." The player angrily typed the amount in the trade window and stormed off, mumbling to himself while he exited.

After turning my head from the front door, I materialized the Elucidator and Dark Repulsor and set them on the counter.

"So are you gonna charge me double like you did him? The two of us know it's not my first trip here today. If anything, I've been here about as many times as he has," I said.

"I know, but I won't," she replied casually.

"Why?"

"Because one: you're an actual member of the clearing team, not some mid-level player taking every opportunity to be alone with me. Two: you don't go and mess up what I repair for you so you can come back a half hour later and have me repair it again. And three: I'm your exclusive blacksmith."

"What does the last one have to do with anything?" I asked, tilting my head. _Maybe being here will help get my mind off of it..._

"Nothing, I just... like hearing myself say it.." Her face grew pink when she finished talking. She picked up the swords and led me downstairs to where her forge and many tools reside. I took a seat on a bench close to her watermill grindstone and watched her work her magic. She put on her gloves, a pair of goggles, and began grinding off the scratches and dents in the Elucidator, then quickly moved to the Dark Repulsor. Something about the light-blue blade required extra attention, so she leaned in to get a better look.

_Haha, she looks so cute when she's focused.. I guess it's working._

"Did you say something?" She asked, looking up from the wheel.

"Huh?! Oh, umm.. no," I answered. _Did I actually say something, or was it just a thought..? Oh come on, Kazuto, nothing's wrong with thinking a girl is cute. She's just a pretty good friend. And your exclusive blacksmith. Damn it, don't tell me that I'm liking the sound of that, too..._

"If you say so.. Well, your swords are almost done," She said for the fifth time today.

"Awesome, thanks," I replied. It's pretty strange, its been a little over a week since we first took off for the Floor 55 Mountain, but we've become pretty good friends since then. I've gone and helped her with some of her work orders, and she's given me some info on good hunting spots among clearers. I'm already aware of a majority of the ones she's mentioned, but it seems to give her an extra sense of accomplishment to tell me the locations, so I let her have her moment. Besides, think it's pretty fun to go out with her. Wait, not in that way!

"Normal price?" I asked, shaking off the previous thought.

"Did you forget that quickly?" She laughed as she pulled up the trade window.

"Just making sure. Hey, there's still a few hours of daylight left. Did you have any material quests you need to go on?"

"Well, I have one, but it's not too important.. Just a weapon order from a non-clearer. Were you gonna head back out to the field?"

We went through the transaction and sat down close to the staircase.

"Mmm, I don't know. I'll head out for an hour if anything, which is why I was asking, but otherwise I think I'd call it a day; I just got out of a boss meeting. There's supposed to be a raid within the next few days or so and I wanna be well rested and trained. Asuna was pretty mad when I showed up late for the last one."

"Really?" Lisbeth shook her head as she laughed, "If you didn't spend every hour of daylight in a dungeon, that wouldn't happen! Besides, you're already one of the best in the game. You don't really _need _the training."

"So you want me to take _a break from the fron_t? I can't do that and stay as far above the other clearers as I am. Plus, if they didn't plan the raids so early, I wouldn't be so late. Who organizes a meeting for 30 people at noon?" I asked, playfully tapping her shoulder.

"Are you serious? You're really something else, did you know that?" She continued laughing as she put her hand up to her forehead.

"Yeah, I get that a lot from some of the other clearers. Except you didn't say that with venom on the tip of your tongue," I said with a solemn expression. _Just when I was forgetting the incident._

"Hey, where'd that come from? Have a rough day?" She asked.

"I guess you could say that. Being one of the top players gets a hell of a lot more enemies than fans. At least you have looks on your side."

"I'm glad you think that." She looked away briefly, blushing, "But what ruined your day?"

"It's fine, it was no big deal." I sighed and shook my head, realizing that she wasn't going to drop the subject.

"Come on, Kirito, I'm your friend. If something's bothering you, you can tell me."

Liz leaned against the wall and signaled for me to sit closer. I moved over some, then looked down at the floor before I began.

"Well, the Assault Team is set to challenge this floor's boss on the 21st, so we decided to hold a meeting to discuss tactics. I went to the boss meeting like I always do, and things were like they always were. We exchanged information on the boss, came up with a strategy, and got ready to leave, but that's when things took the crappy turn. Some idiot leader of a new, small frontline guild called Sky Runners piped up in front of everyone on how I'm the beater and I shouldn't be allowed to raid with the group because I 'only do it for the money and items, not for any other players.'" I explained, using air quotes when I said his words.

"That's not all!" I continued. I could already feel the anger and humiliation swell up inside again. "I tried ignoring him and and leaving, but then he went on! He even had the nerve to bring up Diabel's death on Floor 1 and tried to pin it on me! I told him to shut up and leave the past behind us, and that it wasn't my fault, and he accused me of lying and challenged me to a duel. Finally, Klein and his guild jumped in and told him to back off, only to be ignored by Idiot and Co.. I declined the duel, since I saw nothing to gain by fighting him. Given no other option, he heads out ahead of me, but before he does, he says this: 'You're really something else, you know that? Just a selfish beater who won't fight back,' his guild right behind him. And the best part? Klein and his friends were the only ones in the room to back me up. Other clearers stayed out of it, hoping to avoid needless fighting. Then Heathcliff said a passive comment about respect between the clearers, and stopped Asuna from intervening. I guess I know who my actual friends are in this damn world."

Lisbeth widened her eyes and stood still, then opened her mouth to speak.

"Kirito, I'm sorry.. I heard something about it from one of the customers, but I didn't pay much attention.. What was his name?"

"Oh don't worry about it, I'll be fine. I don't really remember his name right now, I didn't bother making a connection. It's just gonna be a pain in the ass working with the jerk in the future," I said. I leaned back and put my arm around her, hoping we could change the subject.

"Hey, well I'm probably gonna go training later tonight. Did you.. maybe want to come? " I asked nervously. Yes, we've gone material hunting in the past, but otherwise, we've never met up outside of her smith shop.

"Umm.. I don't know," she started. She interlocked her fingers and glanced back and forth from the floor to me before she continued. "I'm nowhere near your level. Are you sure I won't just slow you down?"

"That's nothing to worry about, Liz," I began, "I'm still fairly clumsy in my Dual Blades skill, so if anything, I'll be the burden. I haven't had any good spots to myself for a while, so I haven't trained the skill very much. If I go at night, then there won't be as many people to worry about."

She stood up and and started rifling through papers on a nearby table.

"Well, one of my customers did put in that request for a new weapon, and the materials are only found close to the front lines. Did you want to look for them now or later tonight?

"What would we need to look for?" I got up from the bench and walked up next to Liz. Soon enough, she found a sheet of paper with a some notes scribbled on it.

"Umm.. Iron ore, charcoal, and aluminum-bauxite ore." She continued going down the list. "The materials are found on Floor 57, but they're extremely difficult to find. Think you're up for the challenge?"

"Of course! Best part is that if there are any materials left over, you could make a second sword of similar quality. Maybe even one that_ can_ break the Elucidator into a million pieces instead of snap right in half," I teased, gently punching her shoulder as I finished.

"Hey! You have any idea how hard I worked on the Lightning Bolt? It took me four hours to gather the materials and three tries to build it!"

"Now you tell me?" *sigh* "Great.. As if I didn't already feel guilty."

The bell on the front door rang, interrupting the conversation.

"Sounds like somebody's here. Sit tight, I'll be right back," she said. She got up and messed with my hair, then made her way up the small staircase that led to the register.

"Hey, what was that for? I'm not some kind of pet!" I asked, turning to face the smiling blacksmith.

"Sorry, Kirito! I've been wanting to do that! Don't think that's the last time!" She called before leaving to help the visitor.

_I wonder what else she's been wanting to do, but hasn't mustered the nerve to do. Stop that, Kirito! Well, maybe I can go over some of my new sword skills while she's busy._

I stood up and pulled the Dark Repulsor out of my inventory, and headed to the center of the room. With the Elucidator in my right hand and Repulsor in my left, I went over the few skills I learned. A few minutes later, Liz came back down.

"Hey! Sorry about that, the other customer was asking for an update on his sword's progress. He was less than pleased with the answer."

"He didn't give you a rough time about it, did he?" I asked, putting my swords back into their scabbards. _I swear if he did..._

"No, he was just a little impatient. He keeps telling me how he wants it as soon as possible, but nothing more."

"Are you sure?" _Hold on__, why are you getting so protective?_

"Yeah, he just told me that and left. So I guess that means we're on for this evening?" She asked, equipping her battle gear as she spoke. A steel plate guard appeared on her left arm, along with a matching chest plate and set of greaves on her shins.

_Wow... She didn't have that the day we met..._

"U-umm, yeah!" I stammered, hoping she didn't catch me staring. "So floor 62, right?"

"Weren't you listening? Floor 57 is where everything is." She materialized her new mace, the Indian Gunstock, and headed for the door. I followed suit, returning the Dark Repulsor to my inventory as I walked.

Once we made our way out the door, the NPC clerk came in and changed the sign to "CLOSED", then left. Man, in all the MMO's I've played, I've never come across a lazier group of data.

To save time, Lisbeth and I burned a blue crystal and headed up to Fodina, a small town on the 57th floor. The town is reminiscent of an old Italian city comprised of stone houses and pathways along the streets with expansive forests a short walk away from the outskirts. Once in Fodina, we started walking towards the forest to look for the mine. Much like many other forests in Aincrad, there were many different trails and mini dungeons in the form of caves, so we were stuck wandering around for the better part of two hours.

"Didn't you say that the mining area was outside of this part town? I would think that with all of the map data collected, we'd have found it already. What if we went the wrong way?" I asked, feeling boredom start to take over. The sun was beginning to set, and I was hoping that we wouldn't have to be out too late.

"Are you saying that you think I don't know what I'm doing?" She turned and gave me a look of suspicion.

"Well I'm just saying, we've been out here a while and haven't found anything. It's gonna be dark soon, and I'm worried about being out too late and-"

She grabbed my collar and pulled my face down to hers, leaving our faces mere centimeters apart and me in utter surprise. In an instant, my heart rate nearly doubled.

_Any closer and we'd be..._

"I'm pretty sure we're in the right area, I mean the town's name _means _'mine'. Just a couple more hours and we'll call it; I know you're no stranger to being out late for a materials quest." She let go of my collar. "Besides, it'll probably be fun!"

In the next second, she grabbed my hand and began running towards a densely wooded area. "Come on! I think it's this way!"

_Right, the way that I was initially referring to._

* * *

About fifteen minutes later, we finally spotted the mine in our maps. It turns out, we headed in the wrong direction when we left Fodina, and had covered about two-thirds of the surrounding forest in our wandering. At this point, most of the sun went over the horizon and the insects of the night began their cacophony. At the entrance, we saw a young NPC standing outside with a panicked look on her face. A question mark rested above her head.

"You know, if you listened to me, we would have spent less time wandering and more time looking for the materials," I said in a playful know-it-all tone.

"Oh shut up, Kirito," she responded. A slight blush from embarrassment starting to set in. "Well, we finally found it. It looks like a quest NPC at the entrance, do you think it might have something to do with the quest?"

"Probably. Let's go ask and find out," I replied, pretending not to notice the new redness.

As we walked up to the NPC, she ran up to us with an urgent look on her face. She was wearing a white shirt with sleeves torn off at the elbow, brown pants that ended a few inches above her ankle, and had no shoes on.

"Do you need any help?" I asked, prompting the pre-programmed dialogue.

"Yes, mister!" She began. "You see, my family is very poor, so we do what we can to get through each day. We heard of a mine in this area, so my brother and I came over to take a look. When we got here, he told me to wait inside while he explored for a few minutes, so I did, but that was almost two hours ago! I'm worried that he may be hurt, can you go and find him?"

A quest window popped up in front of us, asking if we'd like to accept.

I looked over at Lisbeth, wondering if she was willing to try it.

"Let's do it." She shot me a confident smile and hit the blue "O".

"Alright! Let's go make sure everything's where its supposed to be before we jump in."

"Right behind you! The tree over there looks nice," she said before pointing to a nearby Maple tree. A spigot stuck out the side of the trunk, slowly dripping sap into a bucket.

"Yeah, I can go for a few minutes' rest." Not wasting a second, Liz grabbed my hand and pulled me to the base of the trunk. We each opened our menus and began looking over everything.

"Hey, Kirito, can I.. umm.. ask you a personal question.?" Lisbeth asked after we sat down. She had her menu closed and sat cross-legged with her hands in her lap.

_What else is there to ask? She already knows most of what there is to know about me.. Unless she's going to ask about the other side._

"Sure, what is it?"

"Well, in all the times we've gone out, you've never really been very talkative to anyone but me. Why's that?"

"You see, I've always been a bit of a loner. I guess you can say that Klein and his guild are friends, especially after they backed me up, but for the most part I don't socialize with anybody outside of meetings."

"Really? Haven't you ever thought of joining a guild? I'm sure _somebody_ would want your skills and talents. You might even be able to make some more friends."

Suddenly, I felt a stab of pain inside my chest at the memories I thought I'd finally suppressed. Ducker getting mercilessly hacked into shards, Tetsuo going down after taking out a small group of golems, Sasamaru getting killed in an attempt to avenge Tetsuo, and then Sachi. She was doing what she could to fend off the Mineral Elementals until one came up behind her and slashed her back. She said a few inaudible words, then shattered like the rest of them. When I finally arrived back in town, I ran into the guild leader, Keita, and told him the news. Devastated at the loss of his friends, he jumped off the bridge we were on, meeting the same fate as his former guild mates.

_It's a downward emotional spiral with her today, isn't it? Come on, Kirito, don't say that. We were getting along really well earlier. She just doesn't know..._

"Kirito? Are you okay? Y-you're starting to hurt my hand," Lisbeth asked, bringing me back to the present.

"Huh? Oh, I'm sorry, Liz..." I let go of her hand. "I didn't realize that I grabbed it.. Don't worry, I'm fine."

"No, you're not. Again, you can tell me when something's bothering you, now what is it?" She scooted closer and put her hand on my knee.

"Now's not the time, okay?!" I snapped. She retreated slightly, obviously taken aback by my sudden outburst.

"Okay.. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be so nosy... It's just that I wanted to make sure you were okay since we were acting really weird and something seemed to be on your mind and I didn't want you to be down while we're out here. I just want to be able to make you feel happy because I-" she paused and put her hand over her mouth, then continued. "I think I'll stop talking now..."

"No, Liz, I'm sorry.. I shouldn't have gotten mad at you like that." I closed the distance and put my arm around her, trying to ease the tension. "It's just something I don't like thinking about... If you want to know that badly, we can talk about it when we get back to the shop."

She sighed, then rested her head on my shoulder.

"Really?"

"Really."

We sat there in silence for a couple of minutes before she started talking.

"Okay! Well, we're burning daylight, we'd better hurry up and look for the materials." She got out from under my arm and offered a hand to lift me up, then the two of us ran back to the entrance.

"Good luck, travelers! Please find my brother!" The NPC called out to us.

"Don't worry, we'll find him. Hey, has anyone else gone inside since you and your brother got here?" I asked. I don't need anyone finding out about my dual-wielding skill before I get good with it.

"No, sir! But if another traveler comes, I'll see to it that they help you and your friend!"

"That sounds fair enough, ready, Liz?"

"Ready!"

"Alright, let's do this!" I exclaimed before we ran inside.

* * *

**Author's Note: ****Yes, I threw in a reference to my other story. Deal with it :P *gives thumbs up to furrballnerd* It was a bit of an accident.**

**Well, let me know what you guys think! If there's something you liked or disliked, feel free to leave a review or send a PM. For any contributions on future chapters to help speed up the updating, please send me a message with an idea if that's what you feel like. I'll make sure to give specific credit to anyone who helps. Thanks again to Surge Ta'Null for giving me a major push! Remember to follow, favorite, and review! Until next time, obscureuser out!**


	3. Will

**Author's Note: I'm _baaaacck!_ Damn, three chapters in 14 months? I really need to spend more time writing. If you've seen my bio anytime recently, you can skip this paragraph. If not, well it may help to read on. I've had a heck of a lot more to do this year than I expected. I did seasonal work for a marketing company, classes all summer,**** screwed up my laptop playing games from Steam, and finally more classes through this past semester. Thanks to all of that, my previously abundant writing time was reduced to an sporadic hour on a public computer. Thank you, small, very public library.**

**Well, enough of that. I just wanted to say a big thanks to Furrballnerd for helping me out with part 3, his PM helped me rethink some ideas and gave me some others to work with. He turned out to be the beta for this chapter in its infancy (you know, like 5 months ago). Go and check him out if you like, he's got some pretty solid stories for SAO on his profile. **

**Another big thanks goes to AllyKat82 for letting me use one of their (her?) ideas for my story. The idea was originally in Ally's _Keeping Me Warm_ story, and did a conveniently good job of explaining a certain element I didn't worry about with the first chapter. I don't know when I'll use her idea, but I wanted to give my thanks well in advance. _KMW _is possibly one of the best Kirito/Liz stories on the site (probably more so than mine, I must admit), so go ahead and give it a read if you have the time.**

**Enough banter, let's get started!**

* * *

**Floor 59  
****Fodina Mine  
17 July 2024  
21:36 **

"Gosh, I knew that the cave would be extensive, but I didn't think that we'd get lost so easily." Lisbeth took a hard look at the map and the immediate surroundings. The ceiling was about five meters above the ground with each wall about three meters apart from each other. Ancient statues and landmarks were in every corridor and turn, often complementary with the stalagmites and stalactites. It almost reminded me of one of those really old console RPGs that'd take place in a fantasy world of dragons and magic. Something about a scroll of the elders? I'm sure it'll come to me later.

"Yeah. At least we found the other two materials fairly quickly. Is there a safe zone around here somewhere?" I asked. At this point, we reached the intersection where the corridor met two transepts.

"Mm hmm, they should be over to the left," Lisbeth pointed as she took another look at the map.

"All right." While following her lead, I continued looking at our surroundings. Directly behind us, I saw something that stood out from the typical cave floor, almost like a person.

"Wait, what's that over there?" I asked, pointing in the figure's direction.

"Where?" Liz asked, squinting towards the area I was pointing.

"It's over here, come on!" I grabber her hand and dragged her along as I ran.

"Hey, slow down! I'm not as fast as you are. What is it?"

"Sorry, swe-Liz! I said Liz! It looks like a player!"

_Gosh, Kirito! What the hell was that?!_

"Right. I see him, but where's his cursor?" The figure was lying down as if he was headed in our direction, but fell en route.

We stopped about two meters in front of him, trying to get an idea on his status. Since he obviously hadn't shattered, we knew that the poor soul was still alive. He was wearing a torn white shirt similar to the girl at the mine's entrance, but he had ripped blue overalls in place of the brown pants. A battered pickaxe rested at his side, and scuff marks in the dirt behind him lead to a path towards a lower level.

"Looks like there isn't one. Do you think he's the NPC's older brother?" She asked

"Yeah, it's the only thing that makes sense," I replied. "But there's only one way to confirm."

I got on one knee next to him and tried making him come to, turning him from his front to his side and shaking his head around. All over his body resided bruises, cuts, and scratches.

"Hey, be gentle!" Liz said warily.

"He'll be fine. This should work on him," I reassured her as I pulled out a healing crystal. "Heal!"

As the pink light came and left, his wounds faded away.

A few nudges later, the NPC finally woke up. He was rather groggy at first, but gradually became more alert. A moment later, he sat up and rubbed his hands on his face and head.

*groan* "Ugh... Who are you?" He looked up at me and Liz, then the surrounding area.

"I'm Kirito, and this is Lisbeth. Are you okay?"

"I think so... I feel pretty sore, but I think I could walk. I'm Craig." He reached his hand up to me, as if to ask for a lift. Once up, he grabbed his lower abdomen and lowered his head slightly. "Would you happen to have anything to eat? It's been a while since I last had anything," he asked reluctantly.

While smiling and nodding, I dug around my inventory for some bread, then offered it to him. Without hesitating, he grabbed the small loaf and quickly thanked me, then began biting parts of it off.

"Do you have anything for him to drink?" I asked Liz while he ate.

"Yeah, I might have a flask or two for him." She nodded and put put her gunstock club on her hip.

"Well that quest was simple enough, so we return him to his sister, then see if we can find the materials?" I asked.

"Sounds like a plan. Let's go when he's done." Liz looked over at Craig, then offered him a water flask from her inventory.

"Thank you, miss," he said, taking the bottle from her hand.

"Don't worry about it. Are you about done?" She asked.

"Mm-hmm!" he answered with his mouth full of the food and water. He swallowed, coughed, then continued. "Do you know the way back to the entrance?"

"Yup. Follow us and we'll get you back with your sister in no time," I answered, pulling up a tangible copy of the cave's map as I talked. "Let's go!"

The three of us began walking, talking as we tried to find our way out of the dungeon. Craig stayed quiet for the most part, so the conversation was between me and Lisbeth. I guess you can't ask much more from a quest NPC.

"Hey, so you've really been smithing since day one? I could've sworn that you turned to it after you found out that you didn't like clearing."

"Yes, we've been over this before. I opened my shop and tried hard to get my name out there for a while before showing off my skill. Don't you ever listen, dummy?" Liz nudged my shoulder as she asked the question.

"Hey, no need for name-calling, dummy! I just find it astonishing that you've stuck with the trade for so long. I mean, even Agil went out and helped the clearing team with a few raids before picking up shop-keeping," I nudged her back in retaliation. It felt nice, really. There's nothing quite like light-hearted fun. I couldn't help but notice how relaxed I feel around her whenever we're out adventuring. Maybe I can even help her join the clearing team one day... I wouldn't mind the training...

Wait, is this the first time it's like this, or just the first time I realize it? Regardless... there's just something about the way she talks.. and the way that she _is..._

"... not listening, are you?" Liz's question derailed my train of thought.

"Huh? Sorry, um, what were you saying?" I stammered.

"See? Well, never mind that. I guess you took off into your own fantasy world," she started.

_I guess you could say that..._

"But like I was asking, what do you think we'd run into while we're down there?"

"Well, let's ask Craig," I pointed my thumb to the NPC. "What kind of things did you see down there?"

_*Whew* Glad we avoided that other conversation..._

"There i-isn't too much at first, just your typical mine. During the daytime, everything was just about empty, save for the occasional miner, but as night begins to fall, cave dwellers begin preying on poor souls still in the mine." His voice was pretty shaky as he told us this, making me think that he had a bit of a run in with those creatures. It would explain his cuts and bruises.

"Cave dwellers? What kind?" I asked.

"Small, horrible goblin-like creatures with stone daggers. I was looking for any rocks or metals that I could sell, but I kept coming up empty. I kept looking and looking for what felt like a short time before the first ones started appearing. Thankfully, I was able to fend some off with my pickax, but the commotion attracted a lot more of them. I tried to get out, but before I knew it, they had me nearly trapped."

"Damn, that bites," I commented.

"I know. I've heard many stories of prospectors stuck in a similar situation and didn't make it. Actually, can I ask a favor of you?"

"What do you need?"

_Probably another part of the quest..._

"I'm sorry to bring this up now, but if you two could protect me while I get enough for my family, I could give you some of what I collect. Do you still want to take me back to my sister, or protect me while I mine?"

His face lost the fear and panic of earlier as an option window came up in front of him.

_Great, just when I was starting to feel sorry for him..._

"Hold on a second, why didn't you say anything about this before? Don't you think that it would've been better to ask us _before_ we came so close to the entrance?" I asked.

"Yes, it would have been more ideal that way, but I kept wondering whether I should ask such a favor of near strangers or simply come back another time. I've decided to ask you," Craig answered quickly. He didn't move a single centimeter while he spoke, further dehumanizing the NPC.

_The stupid things have a response for everything, I swear. Damn you, developers. I guess that just means more XP and Col._

"What do you think? Do you wanna protect him for a while and get the extra item and training, or escort him to the front and come back later?" I turned and asked Lisbeth.

"I'm up for it, but it'll mean we do the quest in place of tonight's training."

"All right, then," I responded as I looked down to the window.

[Would you like to help Craig mine, or return him to his sister?

A) Protect him while he mines.  
B) Escort him to the entrance.]

"Well, if anything, we'll have each others' backs," I said as I hovered my hand over "A". Liz nodded, then yawned as she adjusted her armor.

"Are you sure you're not getting too tired? We could take him back and go hunting tomorrow."

"I'll be fine, okay? Besides, you could use the extra training for your dual wielding. I saw how clumsy you were with the Noctavis Bats. " She snickered as she stretched her arms.

*sigh* "Okay, but if you feel too tired, then let me know. I don't want anything happening to either of us out there."

"Oh, there's no need to get worried, Kirito. I can still kick butt if I have to. That includes yours!" She shot me a confident smile when she finished.

"Good, then let's go." I returned the smile before I looked back to the menu.

I selected option "A" and looked back to Craig. He stood still for a second after I clicked, then started on to the next part of his script.

"So it's settled, Kirito. I'm trusting you two."

"You can count on us. Lead the way."

Suddenly, Craig started sprinting back deeper into the cavern, taking several lefts, rights, and downhills until we were back where we found him. This time, we followed the skid marks down the mine shaft in search of ore veins to deplete. Random equipment was scattered in every direction: shovels, carts, pickaxes, support beams, and empty boxes. When we turned a corner into a larger room, Craig pointed to a vein and led us in that direction. We kicked aside a few boxes before letting him pound into the cave wall. After about a minute, the sound of faint footsteps started to fill the room.

"What do you think that is?" Liz asked as she looked around.

"I don't know, maybe it's another player who got lost?" I answered.

"This late at night? I'd think that if a player got lost, they'd've either teleported or called out for someone."

"I guess you're right. Then it's probably the dwellers he mentioned earlier."

"In that case, we're going to be in for a fight."

Soon enough, about a half-dozen chest-high shadows danced along the wall opposite to us, then a group of the goblin creatures began entering the room. I drew my Elucidator and waited.

_Here we go, now time for some more action!_

"Wait, don't jump right in, you don't know what they can do!" Lisbeth grabbed my shoulder as I leaned forward to strike.

"Well what's with you suddenly being the cautious one?"

"You said that you don't want anyone getting hurt while we're down here, right? Can't that work both ways?"

*sigh* "Right, but don't let them get too close," I responded. I drew my second blade and stood in a defensive position, waiting for the distance to close.

"Act as the forward! I'll take out anything that slips through," I heard Liz yell from behind me.

_Sounds good. Just like we always would._

The Parvo Warriors were about one-and-a-half meters tall with slender gray bodies and narrow, pointed faces. Sure enough, their weapons primarily consisted of crudely-made stone daggers and swords.

I started off by using basic skills, letting my two swords hack, slash, and stab through each Parvo as he attacked. As the seconds ticked went by, more and more started appearing from different areas. Liz began fighting the elf-like creatures when they threatened to surround us, bludgeoning a gray humanoid into glass every few seconds. Eventually, I had to stop using sword skills to circumvent the cool-off period between strikes.

"Kirito, they're starting to fall through!" Liz called as she continued bashing away at the little beasts.

_Stay away from them, bastards!_

For the next few minutes, I continued to slash and stab at the Warriors until their sheer numbers overwhelmed us. Before long, I was dealing with as many as 12 at a time while Liz was taking on at least 5.

"Just a little bit longer! I've almost depleted the vein!" Craig called from his alcove.

_Damn it, Craig, I was really hoping that you'd have a mining setting faster than "Abysmally Slow"._

"We don't have that kind of time, Craig! Get what you can so we can get out of here!" Liz ordered.

"I'll make a path! You make sure he stays intact, alright?" I called. "Agh!"

One of the Parvos managed to embed their dagger into my hamstring, then disappeared in a cloud of blue polygons courtesy of Liz.

_Shit! That hurt! Craig wasn't kidding about their ferocity. We have to get out of here!_

While I was clearing the path, a few more goblins were able to slash me in a various parts of my body, draining my HP to about 68%. I looked at my HUD to see Liz's HP still in the high green.

_Good, she's still okay._

Suddenly, a deafening roar shook the cave, knocking the three of us off balance and the Warriors off of their feet. Once they recovered, all 25 or so got up, looked around, and started scattering in several directions, ignoring me, Liz, and Craig, and running to the safety of their home.

*sigh* "Well, I'm glad that they're gone, but I'm not liking where this is going. Something had to have made that roar," Liz noted. "How are you doing?"

"Holding out fine, I guess," I answered as I started going through my inventory. "I was at about 70% earlier, but it's somewhat lower now. I think the Parvo bastards used poisons on their daggers. I'm starting to feel a little weak."

I pulled two Cure Poison and health potions from and gave one of each to Liz.

"Thanks for saving be back there, I could only imagine what they would've done if I didn't have your backup," I said while scanning the room for anomalies.

"Any time, Kirito. I'm glad that I'm able to help you..." She responded, her words getting quieter as she continued the sentence.

Not a second later, the same deafening roar echoed around the cave again, this time, much closer. A few seconds later, the ground about fifteen meters away gave away to the level beneath us. A pair of large hands with enormous claws grabbed the edge of the newly-made hole as if the creature was pulling itself up.

"Shit, that doesn't look good. Hurry up and get Craig out of here, I'll stall him until you two are out."

"What about you? When it comes to things like this, we always take on the boss together," Liz asked as she looked at the commotion in the floor.

"I'm Aincrad's beater, I'll be fine." I gave her a reassuring smile and drew the Dark Repulsor. "Besides, we only need enough time to escape. We'll probably worry about him later. Worst case scenario, I'll teleport back to Fodina, okay? Message me when you're at the entrance. I'll know when I get the notification."

"Alright. You'd better be careful, I don't want anything bad to happen."

"Will do, now go! He's already inside!"

When the creature finally finished emerging from his newly-made entrance, it looked around the cave and crouched with his fists pressed on the ground when he saw me. It was a brown, bipedal reptilian creature with a proportionately large upper body that stood about three meters tall. A large claw sat on the end of each of his ten fingers, and half-meter spikes protruded along his spine.

_Vintrum the Guardian_, his name read. Three health bars appeared and filled in to the right of the name plate.

"All right, let's see what he's got!" I leaned forward with the two swords pointed 45 degrees away from the ground. Off to the side, I heard what vaguely sounded like a teleport.

_Dang it, Liz! If you teleport, Craig might not follow along. I hope you know what you're doing... Please stay safe..._

Vintrum screamed as he threw the first strike, sending his left claws slashing through the air in my direction. Using the two blades, I blocked the hit, then activated a Double Horizontal aimed for his abdomen. To my frustration, his HP only went down about 3%.

_This is gonna take a while..._

After the short stagger, the mini-boss moved his other arm for a similar swipe, only much faster. Unfortunately, I couldn't get out of its way in time, so he sent me flying across the cave. I hit the wall opposite to the door way with a loud _thud_, dropped my swords on impact, then landed on a stack of old barrels. Vintrum screamed again, knocked some shovels and wheelbarrows aside, then started moving in my direction.

_Shit, that hurt! Never mind that, I gotta keep the damn thing busy!_

I got up to retrieve my blades, then went to continue fighting the monster. Before he could land a slashing attack on me, I charged and released a Double Horizontal to his hand, splitting the palm on each side of his middle finger.

The cave creature roared in anger, then turned back to me. He pounded his two fists into the cave floor, then leaned forward and roared in my face. Rows of razor-sharp teeth stuck out of his mouth as virtual saliva landed on my coat. The split appendage left him with the Bleeding status effect.

_Crap, it sounds like that really hurt him. But that would make us about even, right?_

"Come on, is that all you got?! I've fought tougher monsters on the first floor!" I slashed at his face, ignoring the throbbing pain in my back and shoulder, then jumped back to put distance between him and the others.

_Good, now that I've got a good strike on him, fighting him might be a little easier. But I can't afford any mistakes like earlier..._

The battle between me and Vintrum continued for what felt like eternity. I would go on the offensive and get a few slashes, only to be put on the defensive when he went berserk. I would go in, my dual blades glowing bright, then I'd have to retreat from his counter attack. The cat-and-mouse game went on for several exchanges before I could deal substantial damage. Slowly but surely, I wore down his first health bar and started working on his second.

With his second health bar came a new attack pattern, as always, so I eased up on the offensive and tried to see how he'd fight. When I backed away, he roared, then jumped up to the ceiling, making sure to grab two stalactites before making his landing.

_Well shit, now _he's_ gonna dual wield?_

Suddenly, a faint ping rang from the message system and a small exclamation point appeared on my inbox icon. A preview of the message showed up at the top of my HUD:

Sender: Lisbeth  
Subject: no subject  
23:27

_"_Craig safe. TP to F. RV there."

_'TP'? 'RV'? Right, shorthand for 'teleport' and 'rendezvous'. Thank God, I was starting to worry that I'd be here all night. _

I sheathed my Dark Repulsor, then grabbed a blue crystal off of my belt clip, jumped back, then said the activating words:

"Teleport, Fodina!"

The cloud formed and took me away just before Vintrum was able to smash the stalactite over my skull.

* * *

**Floor 59  
Fodina Town Square  
23:30  
17 July 2024**

As I stepped down from the teleport gate, I looked around and saw Lisbeth sitting on a bench about ten meters away. On a moonless night, lanterns along different pathways in the city provided the only light. The streets were completely vacant and the inns were the only businesses still open at this hour. Speaking of which, I should probably reserve one before we return to the shop.

"Hey! I'm glad to see that you're all right!" Liz cheerfully called as she stood up and began walking towards me.

"Yeah, as soon as I got your message I got the hell out of there. I'm not sure how long I'd have been down there if I tried finishing him off." I replied, beginning to walk in her direction.

"Probably not much longer, knowing you. Well since it's late, we should probably hurry back to the shop."

"Yeah. What was the quest reward?" I asked as we turned back to the gate.

"Conveniently enough, the aluminum-bauxite ore that we needed. We can smelt the bauxite out and make the steel back at the shop in the morning."

"That's good," we stepped on the teleport gate, "I guess it was a good idea to let him keep mining."

"Right. But I'm not going into _that_ cave again."

"Don't worry, I won't make you. Teleport, Lindas!"

After we arrived in the city, we made the fifteen-minute trek to the Outer Steppes, the section home to Lisbeth's shop. Since it was close to midnight, the only light in the Steppes came from the door and windows of the storefront. Normally, she would have had the shop dark and closed at 2200, so it was odd seeing the radiating light. Once we got inside, we found the NPC clerk left the lanterns burning and was seated behind the counter, his feet propped up opposite to the cash register, hands folded on his chest, and the _Weekly Argo _open over his face.

_I swear to God, that NPC! Why didn't he close the shop?! As if those damn GMs haven't had their fun with us already. _

"You okay? You look frustrated," Liz asked.

"I'm fine, I guess I'm just worn out..."

"All right then. Ready to call it a night?"

"Yeah. So... umm... I should probably look around for an inn for tonight," I said wearily, scratching my head. She yawned as we walked over to the back room.

"Don't worry about it, you could spend the night here if you want," she offered, almost nervously.

"Are you sure? I mean it's not a big deal; there are plenty in the center of town."

"I-I'm sure. Besides, that just means we could continue the project sooner!"

_I guess she wants me to stay the night... Oh, why not? She's trying to be nice and save me some trouble, so I'll accept and return the favor in the immediate future._

"You know, I think you're right. Where would I stay? And where do we go?"

"That door I told you to avoid last week leads to my living area upstairs. It covers about the area of the first floor."

I followed her over to the small staircase opposite to the entrance, let her unlock the door, then started up the narrow staircase.

"So what, is it one large room, several rooms?"

"If you let me get to that," we walked around the first landing, "I have a pull-out sofa in the living room that you can stay on, if you like."

"That'll work," I said wearily as we went up the final step. Lisbeth unlocked the door, pushed it open, and led me inside her living space.

The white walls were adorned with floral paintings and lanterns, contrasting greatly with the dark hardwood flooring. The living room furniture consisted of a three-seated sofa, a two-person love seat, and a single sofa resembling an American Lay-Z Boy, all a dark green. The three-seater was against the wall to the right with a small night stand on the far end. The two-seater and Lay-Z Boy were on the opposite side next to each other, and a rectangular glass coffee table sat in the middle of the living room with a white ovular rug beneath it.

At the end of the room behind an arch resided her dining room. A four-person wooden dining room set sat next to a window that provided a clear view of Floor 48's grassy fields with Lindas just beyond them. A small doorway on the left led to what looked like a small kitchen equipped with a basic oven and storage compartments, while the hall to the right of the dining room possibly led to whatever bedrooms and storage areas.

"Nice place you've got. Almost makes me wish I had one."

We opened our menus and removed our battle gear, leaving me in my t-shirt and pants and her in her usual dress and leggings.

"Thanks. But if you don't have a place, then where do you stay at night?" Liz asked.

"Usually I'll rent inns for a week or two at a time close to the front lines so I'm never far from the action, but I'm starting to get tired of storing all my extra stuff in a night stand only to return it to my inventory. The carrying capacity does wear on you after a while."

"That bites. Hey, well whenever you want to, I wouldn't mind having y- I mean helping you.. uh.. find your own place!" She quickly looked away and continued scrolling through her Apparel tab. From her dress, she changed into an ivory button-up night shirt with matching pants.

_Well what was she about to offer? Haha, just Liz being her kind self... Let's see how she responds to this._

"I appreciate your offer, Liz," I responded playfully, "And once that happens, I'd be glad to _have_ you ov- I mean... _help_ you over here with whatever new weapon orders and material hunting."

"I'll be glad to take you up on that offer," She answered without flinching, almost as though she saw through my challenge. "Hey, so are you going to find something comfortable or are you gonna sleep in that?" She gestured to my outfit.

"Oh, that's right," I looked down at what I was wearing and reopened my menu. A quick search through my apparel later, I was changed into my night clothes: a dark gray shirt with black pajama pants. "So which one pulls out?"

"The two-seater." She waved me over to the left and started moving things around.

A minute or so later, I was lying down on the pull-out bed under a spare blanket and Lisbeth began heading to her room. Before she disappeared into the hallway, she stopped and leaned against the corner.

"Let me know if you need anything, okay?" She pointed her thumb over her shoulder. "My room is the second door on the right."

"I'll remember that. Thanks a lot, Liz. Good night!"

"Good night, Kirito," she called before the turned out the lights and went to her room.

_It's kind of funny... all the things we've done and been through recently and I'm just on a pull-out in her living room._

I snickered to myself, then let my fatigue take me into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

"_Kirito_..." I heard a faint voice call.

_No.. Not this nightmare again... I thought I moved past those days..._

My heart beat began to skyrocket as I slowly became alert.

"_Kirito..." _The same voice sounded slightly closer.

Despite my drowsiness, I was able to open my eyes and pick up my head to scan the room. Standing about a half meter away from the mattress was Liz, who had a concerned look on her face.

"Hey, I'm sorry to wake you up so late," She started, "But there's something I wanted to talk about. It's kept me up all night."

There was a slight buzzing in my head, possibly from fatigue, and my vision was still blurry, but I responded with whatever energy I could muster.

"It's okay," I yawned, "I didn't have many plans for tomorrow anyway. So what's wrong?" Finally, my heart rate slowed down to normal.

I stretched to try and wake up, then checked the time on my HUD.

**0306  
****18 July 2024**

"Well, it's nothing wrong with me, it's a question I had for you..." She continued.

"For me? What's wrong with me?"

"Well, it's about the way you were before we ran into the cave... Is it okay if I sit down?" She asked as she stepped closer to the mattress.

"Sure," I scooted over, rubbed the sleep from my eyes, then sat up in a cross-legged position. "What about how I was?"

She sat down next to me before she answered.

"I don't know how to ask, so I guess I'll be straight with it... Why did you get upset when I suggested you join a guild?"

_Oh crap..._

"I know you were shaken up when you thought about it, but you also promised to tell me when we came back... Did something happen in one you might have joined in the past?"

_Well, she is right.. I did say I'd tell her back at the shop. I'm almost surprised she remembered, given how drained we were coming in. I guess she really wanted to know about the Black Cats._

The same pain from under the tree came crashing back to me, and any weariness that remained quickly left my body.

*sigh* "And I don't really know how to explain it; it's a long story... Just.. please bear with me."

_Come on, Kazuto, she gave you a reason to live in this world that went beyond the fear of dying. The past few weeks with her have been some of the best in Aincrad. If anything, an explanation is long overdue.._

"Are you okay with questions?" She asked.

"I suppose.. just be careful with your wording.."

She nodded, signaling for me to start.

"A long time ago, I _was_ in a guild," I started, staring at the floor as I spoke. "The quintet called themselves the Black Cats of the Full Moon, and the members had all been friends IRL who jumped into the game together. Their in-game names were Keita, Sasamaru, Tetsuo, Ducker, and Sachi. I ran into them while material hunting on a lower floor. I had just about reached my goal in the dungeon when I heard the commotion. When I found them, they were mostly surrounded by the dungeon's signature mobs and were obviously struggling to hold their ground. I got them out of the mess, and so they invited me to dinner. At the tavern, they invited me to join their guild, and after a bit of consideration, I lied about my level and accepted. At the time, I was around level 40 while their strongest was in the low-20s."

"Wait a minute, if you were way above their level, why did you join?" Lisbeth asked, her disheveled pink locks falling onto her forehead when she tilted her head.

"I guess.. I wanted to be a part of something good. They were more than real-life friends and guild mates. They were close-knit, and about as close to each other as family members. Me, having been a solo player for over six months, wanted to have the companionship - the camaraderie that they had. On top of their closeness, I saw a lot of potential for them waiting to be tapped into. The leader, Keita, wanted nothing more than to have his friends join the clearing team to escape this damn game. Pair that with the potential, and you get a group that could completely change the egocentric, narcissistic tone of the Assault team."

*sigh* "So for weeks, I trained with them, helping each one get stronger and stronger. They were probably a few levels away from the minimum requirement. Then one day Sachi ran off, putting the guild in near-panic mode. I quickly found her hidden under a bridge, and there she confessed her fear of dying in-game. I told her that I'd protect h-her," a lump started forming in my throat, making it difficult for me to continue," and th-that everyone would make it out of the game. B-but th-that's when things started falling apart," I felt the tears start to form in my eyes. Lisbeth leaned forward and wrapped and arm around me, pulling my head into her shoulder.

"Almost a week went by before we finally made enough money for a house. Up until then, the White Castle Inn in Taft was our headquarters. After a short meeting, Keita left to the Town of Beginnings to make the purchase, leaving us with little to do. To avoid living in an empty house, one of the members suggested hunting on Floor 27, five floors below the front lines at the time, to make more money faster for furniture. The God-forsaken place was full of traps that even clearers died from. But because they didn't know that, everyone but me jumped on the idea. I couldn't convince them to pick another dungeon without revealing my level, so I decided to fight extra hard whenever tougher monsters came out." I lifted my head slightly before I continued and saw dark stains on Lisbeth's shoulder.

"We hunted without incident, and when we made enough, we started making our way out of the dungeon. Shortly before we found the exit, Ducker, our treasure hunter, spotted a hidden room, opened it, then ran inside. As soon as I saw what he found, I realized what it was and tried to warn them about the dangers, but they were all inside by then. The trap activated and dozens of mobs spawned in and started taking down the Cats one by one. None of them stood a chance in the room."

I swallowed a lump in my throat to compose myself as the flashbacks started.

"Ducker fell first. Then Tetsuo. Then Sasamaru. Then Sachi. All of them died in front of me, all of them trusting me to get them out of there. All of them died because I was too careless to tell them the truth."

_Damn it, Kirito! Not in front of her! All she wanted was to hear an explanation, not conduct a fucking counseling session!_

"K-Kirito.. you can't blame yourself for what happened," Liz started, obviously shaken by the story, "You did-"

"That's not it!" I interrupted. At that point, my crying got worse and I ended up falling back on the bed. Liz, who had been holding me up the whole time, came down and started lying on my right side, returning my head to her left shoulder.

_Great, now she's trying to calm me down. Why couldn't she just leave me to help myself like when we were outside the cave? Why is she trying to make me feel better? I go people who trusted me killed! How do I know the same thing won't happen to her? Just finish the damn story..._

"I-I eventually found my way back to the first floor where Keita was waiting for the rest of us. When I told him what had happened, he got angry with me, blaming me for their deaths and wishing I'd never joined. Instead of beating on me like I expected for him to do, he climbed on the ledge of the bridge we were on and jumped off.

Ever since then, I played solo, avoiding guilds and refraining from making friends. I don't want to get anyone else killed.

I still have the house, too. Before Keita died, he put copies of the key in the guild inventory so everyone could come and go as they pleased. When everyone died, I was made guild leader, and so before I dissolved the guild, I got my copy and put everyone's items in a storage warehouse. I've visited the house only once in the last year or so, but I couldn't bring myself to go inside," I finally finished, suddenly starting to shiver despite the warmth next to me.

Before long, I heard sniffling coming from the one who'd been comforting me.

"A-are you okay, L-liz?" I wiped away the tears that I could after I picked my head up, then hugged her both in gratitude and to get an idea of why _she_ would be crying.

She returned the hug, then started explaining.

"I'm sorry. I know you went through something that bad... Now I've gone and made you break down because I wanted to know something about your past.. What a selfish thing to do.. I'm sorry.."

Now it was _my_ shirt that was gathering tear stains.

"But still... You can't blame yourself for something like that happening. Even if you feel like that wasn't enough, there wasn't much more you could have done." She wiped her tears and sniffled.

"I... I just wish I could have done more. I wish I could have kept my promise to her. To the others..."

Thankfully, I was able to stop the tears at this point, but the pain in my chest persisted. I tightened my grip on Liz, hoping that somehow it would help ease the pain.

"I know it hurts, Kirito. But you can't keep blaming yourself for it. All that'll do is hurt you even more. Again, I'm sorry for bringing this up... I didn't know what I was digging into." She wiped her eyes one more time, then started stroking the back of my head to finish calming me down.

"Don't worry about it, Lisbeth... I was going to tell you eventually. I... I just didn't expect for it to be so... messy." I responded, wondering when the system was going to dispose of the tears and mucus on our shirts.

"Okay, Kirito. If there's ever a time you want to talk about something, don't hesitate to tell me about it. One of the easiest ways to cope with your feelings is to talk to somebody about them. That way they don't build up and release all at once," She offered, yawning almost immediately after she finished speaking.

_Yeah, like now..._

"Thanks a lot, Lisbeth... In that case, can we talk more about it in the morning? Maybe over breakfast or something.?"

Lisbeth smiled sincerely and nodded, then started stroking my head again.

"Any place you'd like."

"Thank you... I think I _do_ feel a little better... I've never had anyone to talk to about it. Any time I felt like exploding, I'd take it out on the front lines."

"Well, now there's somebody for you to vent to, at any time any day," she pulled away for a second and smiled, then gave a longer yawn than before.

"Is somebody tired?" I asked, scooting back to give her room on the mattress.

"Yes..." *yawn* "Well, did you want some time to yourself, or did you want some company for tonight.?"

_Well, she's already here... and this is more comfortable than the time we went down the dragon's nest... Just for tonight..._

"Umm.. can you.. uh.. stay here.? I really don't want to be alone right now," I answered, sounding more needy than I intended to.

"I'd be glad to, Kirito. I just have one more question for you.."

"And that is?"

"How do I put this... can you scoot over? How do you expect for me to sleep here if I'm falling off the edge!" She sat up and turned back to me before nudging my shoulder. On her face was a hint of a smile, barely visible in the light spilling in from the window.

"If you say so, crazy one." I fulfilled her request and left just over half of the pull-out mattress for her to lie down. She lifted the small blanket, climbed inside, and rested her head on the other half of the rectangular pillow. We stayed there for a long while facing each other, not saying a word after the roller-coaster ride of the last few minutes. Due to the small area, we were hardly more than a few centimeters from each other. I readjusted myself so that my left arm was on my half of the blanket and my right arm was bent under the pillow. One last time, I looked at Liz, checking for any signs of discomfort while she closed her eyes to sleep. While searching, I couldn't help but feel an incredible admiration for her patience and compassion. Beyond the avatar is somebody I've grown to trust with my deeper secrets and, when the situation presents itself, my life. Here she is sneaking her way into the softer side of me that I've fearfully kept locked away... yet... I have a hard time wanting to keep her out...

_Thanks a lot, Liz. I think I really needed that... Finally, time to get some sleep..._

*sigh* "I do love you, Kirito," Lisbeth said with the slightest whisper as she inched closer.

_Ha, almost like the time she thought I was asleep in the nest... I know... Trust me, Liz, I know..._

Just before everything went dark again, I felt what seemed like a small, warm smile spread across my lips. As to whether those lips were mine or not, I didn't know... Nor did I honestly care. Regardless of who they belonged to, I couldn't help but think that this wouldn't be the last time I feel peace in the presence of the blacksmith next to me.

* * *

**Author's Note: Thanks again to furrballnerd and AllyKat82 for their help, it would've been a heck of a lot longer without them. I hope you guys enjoy reading the story, I'm having a blast writing it. I'm not entirely sure when Kirito got his house in Algade, so for plot convenience, I left him without it for now. ****I know, Vintrum's description makes him sound remarkably like a Deathclaw from the Wastelands. I wrote Vintrum's description well before I got into the _Fallout_ series, so I decided to leave it. Also, with _Fallout_ finally released, what's the harm in a little Easter egg?**

**I'm really sorry again for the long wait. If anyone wants to unfollow because they don't like waiting for so long, don't hesitate. Serves me right for taking forever. To those who'd like to beta or suggest anything, contact me via PM.**

**Don't forget to follow, favorite, and leave a review! It really lifts my spirits to see people responding to my work, probably because it reminds me that I'm doing more than killing time for me and readers alike. You guys really are awesome!**

**Until next time, ObscureAuthorBrendan out! **


	4. Grow Closer

**Author's Note: **** Hey again! Thanks so much for your responses! I've decided to split the extended chapter down the middle so that you guys could have some sense of regulation when it came to seeing updates. The winners of the poll were chosen and had the ~14k-word document sent to them, so congratulations, and I hope you enjoyed. You know who you are.**

**Sorry for any grammatical errors. It's been a while since I've written anything outside of a busy-work essay, so I'm a little rusty. I feel like I'm beating the hell out of story update info in author's notes, so I'll keep those on my profile page.**

* * *

**18 July 2024  
****Lisbeth's Smith Shop  
****08:45**

_*BZZT BZZZT BZZZZT* *BZZT BZZZT BZZZZT*_

_Again? Damn it, I swear that the stupid thing's been going off since I woke up._

I reached up and hit the snooze button for about the tenth time this morning. Even though I woke up about an hour ago, I hadn't felt the urge to get up. Lisbeth was still asleep next to me, still drooling on my sleeve, and still taking most of the one-and-a-half-by-two-meter blanket the way she'd been all night. The light pouring in from the dining room window moved slowly from the headboard to my eyes to my chin as time rolled by. Before long, it'd be right in her face to wake her as it did me. I glanced down to see the light illuminate her soft pink hair, made into a mess by adjusting overnight.

Thinking back to last night, though, I realized that while she's essentially all for a romance, I have a difficult time reciprocating any feelings back to her. In the romantic sense, at least.

Don't get me wrong, I like spending time with her and joking around, but... how could I fall for somebody who I _really_ don't know much about? Sure, we've spent hundreds hours together and had many conversations, but all they've been about were things in-game... I don't know her name, hell, I don't even know her age! She can five years older than me for all I know... Goes without saying that she doesn't know my age either. And how can I be sure she loves _me_? What if she just loves 'Oh-so-strong-and-enigmatic Kirito' instead of Kazuto Kirigaya? She knows as much about me IRL as I do her. How does she know it's something real instead of just infatuation? How do _I _know that I'm not just infatuated.? And what if we start something under impulsive feelings and end up hating each other in the end?

The easy thing to do is to follow along with things now and see if something happens, but what if nothing works out? What would it do to her if she feels that I just led her on?

Is it just that I'm afraid to start something.? That I'll just fail her the way I did to my old friends?

*sigh* I care about her. She renewed my purpose in this game, fought by my side in tons of quests, and is even willing to put up with my sarcasm and arrogance. I'm comfortable with a companionship if nothing else, but there are just too many questions that need answering...

_Damn it, Kazuto.. This is why you weren't around girls much. Well, at least _part _of the reason. I don't want tell her something that'd ruin what we have now, but at the same time, I don't want to lead her on and crush her... What do the Americans call it? Being stuck between a rock and a hard place?_

So I lay there with my right arm under the pillow and my left arm bent under my head thinking of I could handle our companionship while she finally wanders into consciousness. She inhaled sharply and slowly lifted herself above the mattress before sitting on her legs. I guess the sun finally found its way to _her _eyes. She squinted around the room briefly before turning back to me.

"Hey," she greeted wearily, "Did you... sleep well?"

"Yeah, I guess," I responded, "It looks like you were awfully comfortable. I take it you did?"

"Mm hmm..." she nodded her head while stretching, exposing part of her lower stomach beneath her shirt. "Where did you want to go?"

"For what?" I asked, running my hands through my hair as I sat up.

"Breakfast, dummy! Did you forget?"

"That's right... There's this place on the 60th floor my info broker told me about a week or two ago. According to her, it's some kind of atomic-age American place, complete with milkshakes and jukeboxes."

"That sounds great! Hey... about last night..." she started.

"How about we.. umm.. talk about that over there?"

"Uh, sure," she nodded her head and started towards her room, "I'll go and change really quickly."

"Okay, I'll be here!"

I stood up, folded the bed away while she disappeared into the hallway, then opened the apparel tab in my menu.

_Maybe breakfast can help me figure out how I can handle this... I'm probably thinking too much..._

"Ready to go?" A voice called from behind me.

"Huh? Oh, you're done already?" I turned my head to see Liz standing outside the hallway, wearing a solid light blue top with a white cardigan, finished with a pair of dark blue jeans.

"Well yeah. I wasn't kidding with the 'really quickly' part."

"Obviously. I guess I'd better hurry up."

I changed into black jeans, a dark gray shirt, and a black jacket with dark gray cuffs.

"Do you ever wear anything aside from black? There are other colors, you know," she said jokingly as she headed for the door.

"Of course!" I responded, going with her humor. "Can't you see that I'm also wearing gray?"

"Oh shut up; you know what I mean," Liz returned. "Let's hurry up so we can finish the sword."

"All right. Right behind you."

* * *

**Floor 60  
****Anders Business District  
****09:18**

The light at the teleport gate faded as we stepped into the middle of Anders, floor 60's second largest city. It's modeled after a typical suburban environment, similar to Taft, and features a forested resort in the outskirts. The buildings don't exceed three stories, and the streets are only about ten meters wide, giving a crowded, chaotic atmosphere outside the main plaza.

We made our way south into the heart of the city, following the coordinates of the restaurant.

"So where's this place you were talking about?" Liz asked while we were bustling through the streets.

"According to the map, Jesse's Speedway should be up ahead on the right."

"Over there?"

Lisbeth pointed to a red, blue, and white storefront, featuring a painting of a bright red Edsel.

"Yeah, I think that's it," I said as I led us to where she was pointing."

We walked inside the bustling restaurant and got approached by an NPC usher from behind a podium. She was wearing a white button-up shirt, a blue apron with the diner's name and logo, and black pants. In her hands were a couple of menus.

"Hello! Welcome to Jesse's Speedway, would you like a table or a booth?" She asked cheerfully.

I looked over at Liz for her input.

"Umm, let's go with a booth for two," she told the usher.

"Sure thing! Right this way." The usher started leading us to a booth at the far end of the diner. "I hope you don't mind a seat away from the window."

"That's fine, thank you." I took the menus and slid into my seat across from Lisbeth.

On the wall next to us was part of a mural that went around the diner and was connected to the other walls. Painted on them was a racetrack with old cars of all shapes and colors racing around the circuit while countless fans in the stands cheered them on. Across from the front door, a bar with about ten seats stretched across the wall with a person with a white apron and hat took orders from those seated. To the left of the entrance next to the bar resided the jukebox, blasting everything from Buddy Holly to Dion and the Belmonts. Sorry, I know my American music. The white tiles, red seats, blue tables, and organized chaos seemed to create a leisurely, casual atmosphere in the diner. With as hard of a time the developers give us in dungeons or fields, I can't deny the fact that they did a good job with the diners and the cities as a whole.

"It seems a little out of place, don't you think? A game full of taverns, castles, and medieval weapons suddenly has an atomic-age diner in a minor town?" Lisbeth asked as she admired the scenery.

"It seems _really _out of place. I guess the devs were sick of creating generic taverns and cafes and wanted some spontaneity in the game. I don't know. But it's here, so I guess we might as well enjoy it!"

"I guess you're right," she responded.

She took her menu and began flipping back and forth through the pages, scanning each page repeatedly.

"See anything you like?" I asked Liz as she re-inspected the second page.

"Yeah, but everything here seems a little pricey," She remarked.

"Oh don't worry; I'll cover everything."

"You sure?"

"Of course. I mean, you did save me the trouble and expense of renting an inn last night."

"I'll keep that in mind," she said with a playful, yet devious smile.

We took a minute to decide our order, told the waitress what we wanted, and sat there in silence for a few moments.

_How do I bring it up? Is it even worth bringing up? Well, I imagine it _would _be, seeing as to how you spent a night right next to somebody who loves me. Does she still feel the same way? Or did she get over some sort of initial infatuation? Did I lead her to think I matched her feelings? Am I just worried about nothing? _

_Fu-uck... Maybe I should've spent more time socializing IRL so I would have an idea of what to do... I'd better pay for everything now, just in case she takes off.._

"Hey I'll be right back. I'm going to handle the bill so it's out of the way."

"Oh, okay.. Um, hurry back!"

She seemed surprised, understandably, at the sudden departure, but almost relieved as I stood up to look for the cashier.

I found my way to the front, where I had to wait a few minutes to pay. Once I recovered from the price of two breakfast specials and two tall milkshakes, I made my way back to the booth, where she had her plate sitting in front of her.

"Sorry for the wait. How long has the food been here?"

"It got here about a minute or so after you left. I thought I'd wait for you to get back before I started."

"Well that was nice of you," I said with a smile as I sat down.

"It's no problem! Hey, so about last night..." She started nervously as she looked down for her fork.

"Yeah... umm... Where do you want to start?" I swallowed and blinked hard.

_All right, let's do this._

"Well... I don't enjoy beating around the bush, so I'll try to make this straight-forward: What are we exactly?"

Lisbeth's words carried control and confidence, but her body language was giving me a different story; her breathing seemed irregular, her hands were twitching, and she was also blinking frequently. If I'm not mistaken, she's as nervous as I am!

"I-I'm sorry.. I don't follow," I responded sheepishly.

_Damn it, why did I make her do that? She's the one showing courage and putting herself in a vulnerable spot, and here I am leaving her in the open longer than she'd like to be..._

"Actually, I think I have an idea of what you mean," I began, "You see, from the start, things have been a little confusing between us; I admired your character and personality, and you said you thought you fell in love with me. I accepted your feelings, but was scared to return them because of my old guild."

_Tread carefully, Kazuto..._

"So we carry on as companions, completing quests, orders, and occasional grinding," I continue, "And then we have a night like last night... We depended on each other and trusted each other with our lives, and we did our best to pull though. And afterwards... we... um... talk about our feelings and spend a night together... and wake up tangled in each other. We _are _companions here, and there's nobody else I would have rather had against Vintrum or down the dragon's nest, but outside of combat, we act as something more than companions. I know, that's what you're wanting to ask about - if we act as more than companions outside of combat, then what does that make us? Well, this morning, I tried to think about our situation and a couple of questions came up.."

Liz still hadn't started her plate, though she was mixing her eggs around while she thought about what I'd said.

"What are the questions?" she asked, looking up at me.

"They're not easy questions, so it's okay if you can't answer them here and now. First question: how do you feel about me.? Do you still love me? If you do, is it the same or different from our nest incident? Or did you find that it was a type of strong crush? Or just infatuation?"

The blacksmith looked down, bit her lip, and closed her eyes before looking back at me with a menacing glare.

_Oh shit..._

"Do you mean to tell me that after all that's happened so far, you think I just have some infatuation with you?!" She asked angrily, loud enough to make nearby players to glance in our direction.

"Damn it, are you that dense? Why would I tell you that I love you, cry to you about it, give you a damn _sword_ after what we'd gone through, keep a major secret, have your back on countless quests, and offer comfort when you needed it if I was _just_ _crushing_ on you?! Huh?! Do you seriously think that I'd do _all of that, and more_ over some guy who I think is cute? Or who I'm enamored with?! I was there in all of that to _show _you _how much I care_ for you! Not just say 'Oh you saved me! My hero! I love you!' and stroke some ego! I _spent the night with you_, for God's sake!" She bit her lip and balled her right hand on the table.

"Or what," she continued, "Did you see some girl head over heels for you and think to yourself 'Hey! Let me see what I can get from her before friend-zoning her!', then proceed to take a sword from, spend the night with, then put her down over easy with breakf-"

"No! Wait, hold on!" I interrupted her and leaned forward to grab her free hand and fist, "It's just that we've spent a lot of time together and confided and stuff, yet there's so little we know about _each __other."_

Her angry expression slowly diminished while her fist relaxed.

_"_I... I guess what I'm saying is that I would like to get to know the person behind the smith shop, behind the avatar, and behind the eyes that were burning a hole in my head.. I would like to know if you love the Sword Art Online player Kirito or the person behind his avatar. Not just the enigmatic person who lost all his friends in-game, but the person I am _outside _the game."

She stayed silent for a few moments, then sighed and pulled her hand out of mine and set it below the table.

*sigh* "In that case.."

_Oh no.. Don't tell me I worded that poorly.._

"I'm sorry.. You're right.. I guess I jumped to conclusions too quickly. Did you still want me to answer your questions, or did my rant do that already?"

"You made it pretty clear how you feel, and don't worry about the ranting," I responded. She sighed again and looked down.

"So," she started.

"So what?"

"So what would you like to know.?" She looked back up and had a small smile on the corner of her mouth.

With a sigh of relief, I smiled back and extended my right hand.

"Let's start with a name! My name is Kazuto. Kirigaya Kazuto!"

"Well hello, Kazuto! My name is Rika. Shinozaki Rika!" Liz, I mean Rika, took my hand and shook it heartily.

"Is it okay if I call you by your real name, or do you just prefer your avatar name?" she asked.

"Well, when we're out and about, I'd prefer that you stuck to my avatar name, but it doesn't really matter in private."

"I'll hold you up to that! Now I have a question for _you_: how old are you?"

"Wait, what?"

"Did I stutter? I asked: when were you born? I'd like to have an idea of the age of the person who I let stay at my house and fell in love with..."

"Fair enough," I started, "I'm 15, born on October 7th, 2008. And how about you?"

"Wait a minute, _I'm _the older one?" She asked, visibly surprised. "I'm 16, born on April 10th, 2008. Honestly, I thought you were about a year or two older than me, not six months _younger_."

"Well, I guess I'm just full of surprises, eh?"

"You never cease to do so," she said with a smile.

Feeling my face grow red, I returned her smile.

"So what are some things you're into?" she asked. "Any sports? Hobbies?"

"Well, when I was a kid, my grandpa made me do kendo with my younger cousin for a few years. With all the training and competing, we eventually made it into the top ten in Japan."

"Wow, I guess that explains why you're so good with swords. Is that what made you wanna play the game?"

"No. I quit kendo after a few years and started getting really into computers. Something about them just fascinated me. Maybe it was the progression they've made over time, or maybe it was what they were capable of. I mean look and see what computers did to us here..."

"Don't tell me twice. But why did you quit kendo if you and your cousin were so good at it? Wouldn't you want to go on and be the best?"

"Under normal circumstances, yes, but they weren't normal circumstances, so I didn't. Shortly after I got into computers, I hacked into Tokyo's public document archives for kicks and started digging around. I started with my family's records, hoping to get a better idea of what they were like. What I found out, though, was that the 'parents' who raised me with my 'sister' were really my aunt, uncle, and my little cousin, and that my real parents were killed in an auto wreck when I was still an infant."

"Oh no... I'm sorry." A sympathetic look came up on her face.

"It's okay. I made peace with it a long time ago. Finding out that my family wasn't really my family had really messed me up back _then_, so I did what I could to distance myself from them. The best idea at the time was leaving kendo for computers, which eventually led to getting trapped in the game. Being really into technology and stuff really did backfire on me, though. Since I was always looking at a screen or internal parts, I never made any real friends. There were people I'd say 'hi' to at school, but never anything more than that."

"I guess things just have to balance out, right? Become a computer genius at the cost of social awkwardness."

"When you put it that way, it makes a little sense. Well, enough about me. What are some things _you're _into?" I asked.

"I'm not really a sporty kind of person, but I like watching football."

"American?"

"No, real football! Why do Americans call their sport 'football' when most of the players who touch the ball use their hands?"

"I don't know. I never really understood that either. Well, did you ever play football or you'd just watch it?"

"I used to play a little, but never for a school team."

"Were you any good?"

"I was pretty good, I guess. I'd play wherever the team needed me, but I always preferred to be the goalkeeper."

"Well as long as you were having fun, right?"

"Right! It's nice to hear somebody who thinks that way. My parents and friends always insisted that I did it competitively, but I thought that would take the fun out of it."

"It gets old eventually. It's a lot of fun at first, but before you know it, you're not practicing to have fun - you're doing it to win. That's where it becomes more arduous than fun."

"Maybe... I just wonder how well I could have done had I joined a team," she lamented.

_Aww.. she's opening up... _

"Hey, I'll tell you what: we help each other get out of here, no matter what, and I'll go watch you play with your school team!" I said with a reassuring smile.

"You know what? Why not?" she looked up from her plate and returned the smile. "And maybe I can see you compete in a kendo tournament?"

"Haha, of course. Maybe I can replicate sword skills in real life just for kicks."

"And if they work, you can move up to the more elaborate skills. Hey, if you don't mind me asking, what part of Japan are you from? It'd be pretty hard to go to each other's events if we're really far away in real life."

"Great question; I hadn't even though of how that'd work," I started, "I'm from the southern end of Tokyo. Before the incident, I'd started in my final year of intermediate school before going to Kawahara Preparatory academy, but I'm sure you know what interrupted that."

"Wait, are you serious?!" Liz nearly leaped forward out of her seat when I finished talking. "I was starting my first year there! Looks like it'll be no trouble being together when we get out of here!"

_Wait a minute... Does she mean.._

"Sorry, that came out wrong.. I meant that as a 'hang out' sort of... thing," she quickly corrected herself before letting her voice fade away.

"Don't worry, I know what you mean. It sounds like it'll be fun!" I responded cheerfully.

Lisbeth giggled for a bit before starting.

"Listen, it might not be accurate to say that I love _you_, but... at the very least... I really like you," she said shyly. "I feel like I can be Shinozaki Rika around you, not _just_ master blacksmith and shopkeeper Lisbeth. You can be a little stubborn or overconfident sometimes, but... most of the time, you're _really_ nice to me and constantly care about my safety. I've lost count of how many times I avoided dropping into yellow because you'd take a nasty hit for me, or you'd prioritize monsters attacking me during material hunting. Or heck, even that time when you told me and Craig to hurry out of the cave when Vintrum busted in, and you held him off until you knew we were out. Yeah, we were both working for a common thing, but you'd always do everything in your power to make sure that both of us made it out of each cave, field, and labyrinth."

"I"m sorry to interrupt you, but how do you know somebody else wouldn't have fought as hard.? I mean, I _do_ care more than I can describe, but what makes me different from everyone else in that aspect.?"

She took a moment to gather her thoughts before she answered.

"Because nearly everyone else who I've gone hunting with has either barely held up their end of the work or had us teleport when things went bad. Or if they _did _help me in ways you would, they'd try to use that to earn a date or some sort of discount. When _we _go and fight, you hold up your end, take some of mine, and apologize for not being able to do more, then you never bring it up afterwards. And I'm not saying that I like that you make things easier on me no strings attached, I like that you're doing it for the sake of protecting a _person_ in a game, and not demanding some sort of payback. You make me feel _safe _whenever we'd leave safe zones... I can't think of anyone else I'd rather have around."

_So I guess that means she isn't just infatuated... she really.. cares..._

Butterflies filled my stomach and an strange happiness came over me when she finished talking.

_I wanna tell her how I feel... But I need to be careful so I don't say something that I'm not completely certain about... Well, here goes..._

"I'm glad that you feel that you feel that way," I said with a smile, "And in all seriousness, I think I really like you too. You're somebody I know I can trust, with both secrets and dark areas of my past... You're somebody who gives me purpose in the game, and somebody who I can look forward to seeing outside of it." I reached over and rested my hand on hers. "I'm so happy that I can turn to somebody like you with in-game and personal matters, and everything in between. Before I met you, I'd spend hours bawling on my own about the things I've been through in Aincrad... the loss of friends, the stresses of combat, and the endless months of bitter loneliness. Now that you're here... there's somebody not only willing to deal with my faults, but also the mental burden I have.

It's just that I'm afraid of losing somebody I really care about again. You know the story of my old guild... and how it happened... and I'm terrified that one way or another, I'm going to lose somebody like you. Somebody who I can confide with and fight alongside. Somebody who I can be of help to, and somebody who cares about me as much I do them, if not more.

Despite my fear... I _want_ to get closer to you. The thought of learning something about each other that one of us can't stand scares me because I really treasure what we have..."

A tear began forming in my eye as I continued.

"Hey, do you think we can finish this at your shop..? I don't want to break down in front of everyone here..."

"Y-yeah, of course," she answered hastily as she began getting up from the table.

I stood up with her and began following her to the door when she stopped suddenly.

"You don't mind if we save time, do you?" she asked as she held up a blue teleport crystal.

Without answering, I pulled out a blue prism from my inventory and nodded to her.

"Teleport, Lindas!" we said in unison.

* * *

**Floor 49, Lindas  
****10:09**

As soon as the light at the telelport gate disappeared, I grabbed Lisbeth's hand and started sprinting to the outskirts of town. Through the main plaza, past the market district, around the residential areas, and into the rolling steppes.

Liz, who I should have been more gentle with en route to the smith shop, started calling out to me over the wind and loud footsteps.

"Would you mind slowing down some? You're about to pull my hand off of my wrist!"

_Damn it! I can't be hurting her like that... I want to hurry so we can talk in private! I hope she doesn't hate me for this._

"I'm terribly sorry!" I said before I picked her up in a cradle position and started running again.

"Hey, be careful! I know we're in a rush, but don't get us hurt!"

"I'm being careful!"

After crossing the bridge a half kilometer outside of the city gates, the shop started coming into full view in the distance.

_There it is. Why does the place have to be so far outside of town?_

In that minute, I was able to get us to the front door and set her down in front of it. The gentle breeze rocked the wooden sign above the door back and forth, and the morning sun was shining its last few rays before disappearing behind the base of floor 50.

"Well that was really something," she said as she pulled out her key ring, "I'd forgotten that you were able to run that fast."

"Come on, Liz! I ran up a slippery wall once and almost made it through."

"Until you slipped and left a crater in the snow," she giggled and opened the front door for me and followed me inside.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I remember," I grumbled.

"Did you wanna talk in the back?" She turned and locked the door behind us as I made my way through the inside.

"Yeah, please..."

Once we made our way into the room with the forge, she went and sat on the small bench by the door. I pulled a chair out of a nearby table set and set it a half meter in front of her. I felt myself start to shake and my mouth dry as I tried to piece together my words.

_Why am I so nervous about this? She's well aware that I like her already and what I'm afraid of, but why are the butterflies still in my stomach, and why am I still trembling? _

"I-I'm sorry, where did we leave off.?" I tried horribly at stalling. I already committed to finishing the statement, but it's just _so damn hard _to say!

"You were talking about how you really treasure what we have now, and then we started heading over here," she answered nervously.

"That's right... I'm sorry... I'm terribly afraid that if we... get too close too quickly that we'll..."

"Hate each other?" Liz asked.

"E-essentially. You're the first person who I've genuinely been able to open up to since day one... Yeah, there's Klein, but as willing as he is to lend an ear, I've never felt comfortable enough to talk to him about anything outside of SAO. And with my old guild, I was usually the one to help others with _their _problems. As close as I was to _them, _I was never able to truly be a part of their camaraderie. I just... I don't know what to do about us two," I choked out the last part before covering my tear ducts with my thumb and index finger.

"Listen, Kirito, I'm _always _going to be around for you, okay? And don't worry about us two too much, silly... I'm just as scared of losing your company as much as you are for me." she went around to my back and hugged me from behind, resting her head near my right shoulder and letting her hands slide down to my stomach. I wrapped my right arm around her head and my other hand over hers on my torso.

_Wow... I can't describe how much I'm enjoying this... I feel... safe... Does she really mean that?_

After a moment in that position, she began to straighten her posture, moving her hands and her head from their places.

_I guess now's a good time to ask her._

"Do you r-" I looked up and turned to ask her when I suddenly felt a warm breath sweep over my lips.

When I realized what was happening, my breathing stopped, my heart rate skyrocketed, and I began to tremble. Her face was in full view of mine and our lips were barely touching.

We stood there frozen for what felt like forever, each of us as surprised as the other. My best guess is that she was going to kiss my cheek and I'd turned into it. Unable to do anything else, I finished my question.

"-really m-mean that.?" I asked, my lips grazing hers with each word.

She didn't blink, nor breath. All she did to respond was give the slightest nod.

_W-what do I do?! I haven't kissed anyone before! At least I don't_ think_ I have..__ And I certainly didn't expect to do it _here _and _now_! _Are _we kissing? _

Before my mind could create any more questions, Lisbeth backed away about a half-meter with her hands over her mouth.

"I-I-I'm so sorry...! I didn't mean to-" she stammered, her face quickly filling in with red.

"T-that's o-okay..." I replied. By now, my rational thought was fleeting fast, and flawed logic began taking over.

_W-well if we've gotten this far... what's the harm in that last push.? If she wants to fully kiss, of course..._

I stood up, walked towards her, and moved her hands away from her face. Next, I placed my hand on her right cheek with the other just above her hip. Ever so gently, I started pulling her back in.

_Please don't hate me for this..._

After a few more seconds, we finally reconnected. We closed our eyes, then slowly came together completely. The warmth of her lips finally returned to mine.

Instantly, our lips began to tremble, and I lost my ability to think. The kiss was both electrifying and numbing at the same time, if that makes any sense. In that moment, only Lisbeth and I existed in that world.

_I can't move... I don't _want _to move..._

A few moments later, I felt Liz's hand move behind my head and her other around my back, then pulled us even closer. Unfortunately, that only lasted for a few seconds, as she pulled away to catch her breath. Following her first breath, she moved both of her arms behind my back and rested her head in my chest. Instinctively, I hugged over her arms.

_Oh no, what did I do?! _

"H-hey, are you okay.?" I asked hurriedly as I caught my breath.

"Yeah... I... I'm okay," she assured me, loosening her grip and moving away from my chest.

Lisbeth looked up and blinked at me

"Hey, maybe it's about time we completed that sword order; he's supposed to be coming for it later today," Lisbeth suggested. She opened her menu and equipped her smithing gear: her signature pinkish dress, white apron, knee-high boots, and elbow-length gloves.

"O-of course," I started, "I'd hate to get in the way of that after what we did to get the stuff for it."

I went and settled down on a stool by the wall opposite of her forge while she ignited the black coals. While she was setting that up, I did what I could to keep my mind busy. Normally, I'd watch her as she went through each phase of crafting, but after... today... I thought she might have wanted a bit of room to concentrate.

_What'd I do... Why'd I do that... I mean... I don't think she hated it, since she _did _intensify__ it, but... doesn't that just make things more complicated? Isn't this the 'getting too close too fast' that I was worried about? Now what if something happens? Damn it.. I should have controlled myself better... What's she thinking now.?_

While looking around the room for something, _anything _to distract myself, I noticed a small bulletin board Lisbeth had set up and covered in notes and photos.

_Strange. In all the times I've been here, I never noticed she had this here._

On the board were a few hastily-written notes about weapon recipes, locations of materials, and future weapon orders. Between the colorful note pages were different photos of Lisbeth with different groups of people. Some I couldn't recognize, others I did, but knew I'd never see again, and finally, a few who I was all too familiar with. Each Polaroid-style photo had a footnote written in its white portion. The photos were placed out of order, but dates written on the footnotes helped me organize their sequence. The earliest photo was of her on a large, olive blanket with Asuna, with a mallet, anvil, and modest "Lisbeth's Smith Shop" sign hanging on the anvil in the foreground. On the bottom, Liz wrote _"First customer! ^-^, Town of Beginnings, 12 November 2022."_ Both were giving a bright, cheerful smile.

_Looks like she waited a day or two to get her shop up and going. I also almost can't believe that she and Asuna go back that far. And Liz had brown hair at one point? I guess that's her real hair color. Idiot me, I should've known that she didn't log into SAO with a full head of pink hair._

The next few were of different friends and events, like birthdays, holidays, and other parties. About three months after her shop opened, there was another photo of her and Asuna in a busy marketplace entitled _"New hair dye! :) But late for Valentine's Day :\ 19 February 2023"_

"Whatcha looking at, Kirito?"

"Oh, hey Lisbeth!" I turned around, thoroughly startled, to face Liz. "Just taking a look at the photos you have up here. Letting the fires smelt off the unwanted metals?"

_Is she wanting to talk about earlier? Or go along with this and wait for later..?_

"Yeah. After I extract the iron from the ore, I need to let it sit with a bit of carbon so the steel can form."

_Thank God.._

"And then you reheat the metal to its dark-ish purple color, then beat the heck out of it until a sword forms."

"You know it. Did you find anything interesting in the photos?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact. Why did you dye your hair pink?"

"Do you not like my hair color?" she asked, tilting her head quizzically.

"It's not that, it's just that you looked really nice in your light brown hair, and so I was curious about the change."

_No, you look amazing in your pink hair! Damn it, Kazuto! Control yourself!_

"You see, since I spent so much time trying to promote my shop, I was far behind the other players' skill when I actually brought people in. And because those I brought in didn't think I was as good as the others, I lost potential regulars. Eventually, I caught up to the quality, but I could never seem to get as many customers as the other shops. I thought that players trusted the manlier looking smiths more, since you'd expect one to look big, strong, and dirty instead of a small-framed girl. With that in mind, Asuna thought that I should try dyeing my hair and use my looks to attract more players, then keep them using my skill. Eventually, word got around that there was a pretty blacksmith who could create masterpieces, and I earned enough to get the shop."

_Wait a minute!_

"So _that_ explains why he sent me here," I thought aloud as I started to laugh.

"Who's 'he'? And what's funny?"

"My buddy Klein," I answered, pointing to the photo of her and the Fuurinkazan.

"Oh, the samurai?"

"Yeah. He has a habit of going around Aincrad, looking for the fairest lady in the land, and introducing himself to them in hopes of landing a date. Between kicking ass on the front lines and hanging out with his guild, of course."

"Really now? And he's the one who recommended me to you?"

"Yup. He mentioned a pretty, pink-haired blacksmith who I could go to for my second sword. He then proceeded to tease me about hitting it off with you if things were in my favor."

"Oh, o-okay," Liz stammered as her cheeks slowly turned red. "I guess his awkward introduction was good for _something_..."

"Let me guess: he bowed, extended his right hand, and started with 'Hi, my name is Klein, I'm twenty-four, and...'?"

"Actually, yes he did. Does he do that often?"

"More than you think... It's kind of funny how things turn out, right? All he was doing was helping me find a good person for a sword, and here we are," I said with a smile.

"Yeah..." She blushed and returned the smile. "Look where we are..."

She turned and looked at the wall clock, then the oven.

"Looks like the smelting is almost done... I gotta go take care of that. I know I came here, but I'll need about the next half hour uninterrupted so I don't mess anything up."

"Sure thing, Liz. I know the drill."

So she went back across the room and, when the time expired, removed the chunk of metal, set in on an anvil, beat off the remaining ore, then set the ingot in a clay container with glass shards and carbon samples. From there, Liz turned up the temperature of the furnace and placed the container with the ingot, glass, and carbon into the fires.

Twenty minutes went by, and I'd finished memorizing each recipe, order, and photo caption on her bulletin board, then counted each brick on the wall. Twice. And there was still time to go in the steel making.

"Hey, this is taking longer than usual. Do you think you can open and take care of the shop for me?"

"Is it time to open already?" I asked.

"Yeah, it's five 'til eleven," she responded, goggle-covered eyes and glove-covered hands working on the oven across the room.

"I can do that!" I called, "But don't you have a clerk NPC?"

"Usually, but not today! I went down to four days per week with him to cut down on wage costs!" she called back.

"To an NPC?"

"Realism of the store! Stupid devs thought of everything! And you know how he is!"

"Gotcha!"

_Gotta love capitalism. And sadistic game developers messing with players. Time to go make a good name for Lisbeth._

* * *

**Author's Note: ****I found Kirito's birth date on the SAO Wikia site (good info hub if you haven't heard of it), but not Lisbeth's. Hers isn't listed, and so I roughly split the difference between Asuna's (7-Sep-08) and Kirito's (7-Oct-09), since Liz was mentioned to be about Asuna's age. **

**If I make any factual mistakes (dates, locations, etc.), don't hesitate to send a correction with some sort of proof. Nothing fancy; an episode number or web link works perfectly. If there's something I'd like to connect from the original story, like dates or weapon stats, I like to keep those as accurate as possible. **

**Stay classy, folks! I'll see you next update!**


	5. And Fight

**Author's Note: Last week I promised that I'd publish the second half of what I'd written, and here I am to stick to the promise! Hopefully, I could continue some sort of regularity with the story updates, but I don't wanna guarantee anything. I mean, look what happened before last week. I left everyone hanging for six months, and many thought the story was abandoned. Now, I won't take such an absence again, but I can't put up new material in a remotely frequent manner. There's just so many things going on in my life that this has to go on the back burner. **

**Well, enough excuses. I hope you enjoy the reading!**

* * *

**18 July 2024  
****1104 hrs  
****Lisbeth's Smith Shop**

I headed up the stairs and into the sales room, ready to hold down the fort. I put on an apron with the shop's logo as I had dozens of times before, unlocked the door, and turned the "Closed" sign to "Open". Running the shop wasn't very difficult; all I had to do was greet customers, treat them well, and collect the amount listed on the price tag.

_Now we wait._

Once eleven o'clock came around, the first customer entered the shop. He looked to be about mid-leveled, not quite ready for the Assault team, and young. Probably around Silica's age. He was a little shorter than me with a somewhat rounded face and had light blonde hair to accompany it.

"Welcome to Lisbeth's Smith Shop! Built for combat, built to last!"

He sheepishly smiled, waved, then walked to the case of daggers to my left of the door. He looked around at the different blades in stock, then moved on to the short swords.

"Excuse me, sir, I have a question," he turned and called out to me.

"I have an answer! How can I help?" I left the register area and walked to where he stood.

"I'm looking to start fighting on higher floors to join the assault team, but I don't think my weapon will be effective past this floor. Do you know where I can start?"

"Well I'll need to ask a few questions of my own to answer yours, is that ok?"

"Yes!"

"Ok, what's your build? Sword-and-shield? Two-handed?"

"Sword-and-shield"

"All right. Next: do you prefer power or speed?"

"Speed."

"So you're the one in charge of DPS?"

"Yeah."

"Got it. Now, I'll need to take a look at your current weapon so we know where to start looking."

"Okay," he opened his menu and materialized what looked like a Roman Gladius.

"Fan of CQB, I see," I gave a half smile as I checked its stat window.

"Yeah, I like to get right up on the mobs," he responded.

"Okay, so it looks like you're looking for a bastard sword of some type. Most importantly, something a little longer than your sixty-centimeter Gladius. The mobs here and beyond can get pretty nasty up close."

"You've been to the front lines?"

"Yup! I'm Kirito of the clearing team, if that name means anything to you."

"The Black Swordsman?!" His eyes widened with surprise, and his jaw quickly dropped. "I'm a big fan! But what are you doing watching a shop?"

"I'm glad to see a fan. Great break from those who hate my guts. Anyway, I'm really close to the owner, so sometimes she asks me to run the front while she's smithing."

"That's cool! I'm Eugene!" He eagerly reached out and shook my hand. "Hey, so what kind of sword will help me survive up here?"

"If you wanna stay with the Roman loadout, you can go with a Spatha. It's a one-handed sword about eighty centimeters long, so it'll give you more reach, and a nasty blow. But if you want greater durability at the cost of a little damage, you can go with a German _Ulfberht _sword."

"Which is less expensive? I only have 36,000 col for a weapon."

_Damn... That's because my Dark Repulsor was worth 100k new._

"Well let's check. Follow me."

We checked the tags on the two weapons in their case at the opposite wall. The Spatha was listed at 50,000 and the _Ulfberht_ was 55,000.

"Oh man... I'm sorry... I can't afford either," he said in a resigned manner.

"Hey, don't give up yet. You can still trade in your Gladius to help with the difference," I reassured him.

"Right! How much can I sell it for?"

"Follow me again, I need to check the guide book on that one. Last time I made a bad estimate, I cost Lisbeth about four-thousand col. If I couldn't pay for that and dinner, we wouldn't be talking right now."

"Haha, that must have sucked," he snickered as we walked to the counter.

_Not as bad as you think, haha._

I went behind, grabbed the tome from its shelf, and placed it on the counter.

"Let's see... Gladius... Gladius... Gladius," I said as I flipped through the pages. "Here we are! Let's see.. in its current condition.. It's worth 12,000 col."

He let his head fall with a sigh of defeat.

"Not again... I don't want to sell my reserve dagger too, otherwise I'll only have the Spatha. And if that breaks..."

"Hey, I'll tell you what: you sell your Gladius to the shop, you buy the Spatha, I'll cover the difference. You can repay me by bringing your guild here any time any of you need anything repaired," I offered.

_It only makes sense. We make a sale, profit off of another item, and ensure we have business. Sure, it'll cost _me _two thousand col, but it's a personal investment for the shop. After all, she did give me a sword worth 100k col essentially for free._

"You'd really do that?!"

"Yeah, but this stays between us, you hear? If Aincrad can get more players on the front lines, we clear floors faster, and the faster we clear floors, the faster we can all go home."

"Y-yes, of course! It's a deal!"

"I'm glad we came to an agreement," I said as I went to get the Spatha from the display case. I made my way back to the register, where he paid with his large sack of coins, Gladius, and my two thousand.

"Thank you so much! I'll be sure to point people this way when they're looking for something!" He called as he went to the door.

"My pleasure. Come back soon, Eugene!" I called while he was walking out.

"Thanks, Kirito!"

The bell rang as the door closed behind him. All in all, he was in and out in five minutes.

_I'd say this was a good start to the shop day_.

"Kirito?" a familiar female voice called as the door's bell rang again.

"Asuna? What brings you here?"

The strawberry-blonde-haired girl walked in with her extravagant white-and-red KOB uniform and Lambent Light on her left hip.

"I can ask you the same thing, genius. What are you doing in that apron?"

"Oh, Liz asked me to watch the store while she finished a weapon order. When we got up this morning, we thought it'd be done by now, but-"

"What do you mean by 'When we got up'? Did you _sleep _here?" She asked almost aggressively.

_Oh shit, I shouldn't've let that slip._

"W-why does it matter?" I asked in response.

"Because if you tried _anything_ on my best friend-"

_About that..._

"- and hurt her, then I'll drag you to the Black Iron Palace _myself_ and make sure you _never_ leave!"

_Well damn... She looks pretty serious about that. I guess I'd better not tell her we kissed..._

"Don't worry, Asuna. She's perfectly fine, and she's in the back right now. She doesn't want anyone bugging her until she finished smelting the metal."

"And how much longer should that take?"

I looked over at the wall clock and found that nearly forty minutes passed since she asked for a half hour.

"Actually, she's already finished with the earlier portion. I guess you can go check up on her if you like."

"Thank you, I'll be going," Asuna said coldly before heading to the door to the forge room.

_Why is she being so cold? I'd think that if Liz were to trust me with something as valuable as her shop, Asuna would trust her judgement and not be so hostile. You know what? I'll do my job and watch the store._

"Actually," I went and put my hand on the doorknob as she was reaching for it, "I need to make sure she's ready for visitors."

_And the forge room _is_ a part of the building that the store is in._

"You have to be kidding! She's my best friend, I'm sure she'll be fine with me going down there!"

"Sorry, Asuna," I halfheartedly apologized, "It's a special order, and I don't want her losing any money on diminished quality."

"Ugh, fine," she reluctantly wavered and crossed her arms.

_If only she stopped obsessing over clearing the game and actually _lived _for a change, I'm almost certain she'd be less stiff and cold-hearted. But I guess she's just that determined to get back to her family on the other side. I almost feel sorry for her sometimes... I wonder how different things would be if she'd napped under the tree on that perfect day long ago like I suggested. Maybe she wouldn't be so uptight and professional._

"Thank you, I'll be right back." I opened the door and rushed down the steps to find Liz. She was standing at the furnace with a large pair of tongs at the ready and the ingot block still in the fires.

"What is it? Why's the shop unattended?" She called almost coldly. She's in the zone, so I can't blame her demeanor.

"Asuna's here, she wants to see you!" I called back.

"What does she need?"

"She didn't say! Do I send her down?"

She pulled the ingot out of the furnace, set it on her crafting table, then turned back to me.

"Yeah, but be quick!"

"Got it!"

I ran back up the stairs and through the door where the no-nonsense Vice Commander was waiting.

"Well?" she asked.

"You can go, but I'm not sure how much time you'll have," I answered.

"I'll worry about that, thanks." She opened the door and left to meet her friend.

* * *

**Liz:**

"Hey, Liz!" Asuna called cheerfully as she walked down the steps from the door.

"Hey, Asuna! So what did you need? Repair? Order? Check-in?" I asked.

It wasn't unusual for Asuna to randomly stop by the shop whenever she needed anything. Sometimes, she'd have me repair her rapier and we'd talk or gossip about what was going on around Aincrad, her guild, or rumors on different materials, but on special days, she'd come in and request a new weapon. The last time she did, she walked out with the masterpiece that is the Lambent Light! But what is it this time?

"Somewhat of a check-in, actually," she responded.

"Oh, okay! So how have things been?"

"Things have been well. Guild recruits are progressing steadily, we're prepping for an attack on the next boss soon, and my rapier seems to be working better than ever." She went and sat on the table I have next to my grindstone and let her legs dangle off the edge.

"Well that's great to hear!" I turned and checked on the white-hot metal to see if it was time to start beating it with my mallet. Just a few more minutes; I left it in the furnace too long, so if I worked it now, the sword's durability might suffer.

"Yeah! But I was mostly coming in to check in on you," she said with a less cheerful voice.

"Well I've been well as of lately. More customers are coming in, metal prices are fluctuating again, which means more money for my more popular blades, and I think I'm getting better with my newer builds!"

"Great job, Liz! I'm glad the shop is doing well. But word on the front lines is that you're doing well in matters that aren't shop-related, though."

"Wait, what do you mean?" I asked.

_Is she talking about me and Kirito.?_

"Well, a few guild mates saw you and a certain somebody," she pointed back to the door, "having breakfast near the front. It was nothing noteworthy until he started grabbing your hands and had the two of you leave abruptly. They said you even left your plates and shakes virtually, or figuratively, untouched. I just wanted to talk to you about it personally before people started talking. Some people think you and Kirito are a thing, and I wanted to know if it was true."

I couldn't help but look down and blush when Asuna finished the last sentence. Some of my bangs promptly fell to cover my forehead.

"So I take that as a yes?" She asked.

"What?! No! No, Kirito and I are just friends! He was just repaying me for letting him stay- I mean, showing him where some rare materials are..."

"Are you sure? I won't be mad if it turns out you two are.. you know.. It's about time you got to be really happy in the game."

"We're not dating, okay? The easiest way I could describe it is a companionship, where he helps me complete orders and I maintain his gear or give him whatever items I can't use."

"He hasn't made a move on you, has he?"

Suddenly, my mind went back to my spontaneous kiss with Kirito earlier... the firm, yet gentle way he held me.. the butterflies I got in my stomach... and the feeling of completion...

_That... was my first kiss..._

"-don't you?" Asuna's voice brought me back to our conversation.

"Sorry, I didn't catch your question. What'd you ask?"

"You like him, don't you?" she asked frankly.

"Honestly, there's something about him that I can't explain... Yeah, I do like him..."

"Does he feel the same way?"

Once again, my mind went back to Kirito and I...

_Knock it off, Liz! Focus!_

"I think he does... but I'm afraid of not having him around if things don't go well," I said nervously.

"Oh, I see," Asuna flashed a smile and came up to hug me.

"I'm sure things will work out the way they're supposed to. If he's half as nice as you make him seem, I'm sure he'll stay around through everything. But don't take that for granted, okay?"

"I know... I just want to be careful..." I returned her hug for a moment and released when she did.

"Listen, I'm sorry if I was coming on too strong. I just wanted to make sure you weren't being taken advantage of, that's all. There are a lot of people who wouldn't hesitate forget about this life if we get out, or would carry on with the game if anything happens. As long as he makes you happy, I can learn to tolerate him. Well, I should be going, I don't want to hurt your profits," she said as she turned for the door.

"That's okay, I understand. I'll see you later! And yes, I'll give you updates every now and then. Maybe you ought to find somebody sometime; there are plenty of good-looking players who would _love _to get to know you!" I teased.

"You know I don't have time nor interest for things like that!" she responded bashfully. "Well, good luck on the build!"

"Thanks! Good luck on the front lines!" I waved good bye as she climbed up the steps and left the room.

_I wonder what she has against him? They probably argue all the time at boss meetings. It's almost strange that two people of their personalities and combat prowess haven't hooked up already. Should I be worried about that? No... he wouldn't have kissed me like that if he had his mind on somebody else... and the way he acted, it seemed like his first kiss also.._

_I just really hope this all works out well... Time to make a sword out of this!_

I grabbed my mallet off of a nearby tool case and began pounding the bluish-purple chunk of metal.

* * *

**Kirito:**

After another cut-and-dry weapon sale, Asuna came out of the work room and quickly headed for the front door. Out of courtesy, I waved and said "Have a nice day!" As she left.

"You too! I'll see you on the front lines!" she called before she closed the front door behind her.

_Well that's strange. I was expecting some sort of cold remark - if she would respond at all. I wonder what they talked about back there. Probably girl stuff._

I stood behind the counter for about another twenty minutes, helping two more mid-leveled players obtain new weapons, sans monetary help, before Liz excitedly came up from her forge.

"Hey, you have to see this! I think I made another masterpiece!" She panted slightly and leaned on the door frame.

"Really?" I asked, turning from the counter.

"Yes! Hurry!" she said with elation while waving me over.

"All right! Give me a second!"

"Why?!"

"I need to update the sign so you don't find some weapons missing!"

I ran to the front door and put up a _Sorry! We'll be back soon! _sign, came back, left the apron on the counter, then followed the giddy blacksmith downstairs. Once down the staircase, she led me to her crafting table where a slick, shiny sword was residing.

The blade was a shining silver color with a jet-black handle. Its cross guard had a slight curve on both sides with the crescent points going away from the hilt. On the hilt, I saw a spiked knuckle guard that would protect the wielder's hand, and a pointed knob at the bottom of it.

_Man, she never fails to impress, does she? Dear God.. the hilt itself looks like a formidable weapon, and then there's an seventy-five-centimeter blade attached to it._

I grabbed the sword from the table and gave it a couple of swings; the weight was comfortable and the knuckle guard didn't really get in the way, although I don't see too much of a use for it.

"I know that the sword is for the customer, but how is it?" Liz asked, returning her smithing tools to their places.

"You did a great job forging it! What's it called? It almost looks strong enough to go up against my Elucidator," I marveled, setting the sword down when I finished the last swing.

"It's called Silver's Cry. Why don't we try that out? After all, you _did _hope that I could make a sword capable of shattering yours." She walked over from the furnace and picked up the blade, took a second look at its details, then handed it back to me.

"W-what? I.. ugh.. Yeah, I did..." I sighed as I retrieved the new blade in my left hand, then unsheathed mine with my right. I set the tapered end of the Elucidator on a nearby table and raised Silver's Cry above my head.

_Well, here goes nothing._

The silver blade glowed crimson as it arced in a downward vertical towards the Elucidator. A short, bright flash of light followed by a loud _ping_ filled the room when the two swords made contact. The volume and frequency of the clash left my ears ringing momentarily, almost making me drop the damn things. When the ring subsided, I returned my focus to the swords.

While inspecting my blade for any damage, I found a subtle, yet noticeable scratch on the spot where it was hit. By the looks of it, the durability wasn't badly affected, though not many things could put such a mark in a single blow.

"D-did you see that?" I turned and asked Liz, who looked even more surprised than I was.

"Y-yeah, I did." She walked over and picked up Silver's Cry, then looked at the Elucidator. "I actually expected my sword to break again, seeing as to how my last masterpiece broke instantly."

"Really? Because you also made the Dark Repulsor, and last I remember, the sword met and exceeded expectations."

"Right! How could I have forgotten that? Well, let's see how Silver's compares to the Dark Repulsor."

Liz tapped on the sword and opened up the specs window. From there, she waved me over to read the info.

**Silver's Cry +0  
Staight Sword/ One Hand**

**Range: **Short

**Type: **Slash

**Attack: **660

**Weight: **140

**Durability: **1200

We both took a long look at the numbers, then back to each other, a surprised expression on my face and a wide grin on hers.

"Okay, now let's look at my other masterpiece! Quick, hand it over!"

"Sure, give me a second," I replied I opened and scrolled through my favorites tab. "Here you go."

After momentarily struggling with the weight, she put the blue blade on the table next to Silver's Cry, then opened its specs window.

**Dark Repulsor +3  
Straight Sword/ One Hand**

**Range: **Short

**Type:** Slash

**Attack: **690

**Weight: **150

**Durability: **1350

Lisbeth let out a cry of excitement when she read the window, then turned and wrapped her arms around my neck. Being as happy for her as she was excited, I returned her hug and spun her around briefly.

"Great job, Liz!" I congratulated when I put her down. "The buyer is going to love it! When's he due to pick it up?"

"Sometime today, but he never gave an exact time."

"Oh, okay. Do you mind if I stick around until he picks it up?"

"Of course, as long as you're okay with missing a day on the field."

"I can live with that," I started, "Besides, if he comes by soon, I wouldn't have missed much time. I could just keep watching the storefront with you in the mean time."

"Well you're going to have to hold it down solo some more until I finish today's weapon repairs."

"That's okay. How long do you think that'll take?"

"Maybe another hour or so. Thankfully, there aren't many today."

"All right. You take care of that, and I'll stay in the front. Come up when you're done!"

"You can count on it!"

I headed back up to the register where I serviced a few more customers. Others arrived to pick up orders and repairs, and promptly left as Liz finished them. When there was a lull in the arrival of customers, I'd sit behind the counter and study the weapon catalog for the shop. I'm familiar with the retail price of most weapons in the game, but not bargain prices, as evidenced by the 4,000-col-mistake I mentioned earlier.

Eventually, Lisbeth came up out of her forge room and exchanged her brown work apron for her signature white one.

"Hey Kirito, could I ask a major favor of you?" She asked.

"What would that favor be?" I looked up from a section on daggers towards the shop's owner.

"Could you go to the market square in town and buy me a new smithing hammer? I'd craft it myself, but I don't have the skill to make the quality hammer I need."

"With what money will I be using to buy this hammer? Also, is there any particular vendor I can get it from?"

She materialized a small cloth bag, counted the contents, then tossed it to me.

"In there is about 10,000 col. In the far corner of the market, you'll find Erich, the main metallurgy vendor in the square. If the 10,000 isn't enough, let me know so I could reimburse you the difference."

"And what's the name of the hammer?"

"There's no particular name, since most weapons and tools are unique, but it's made of Orcish steel."

"As opposed to _Human_ steel?"

"I don't know why, but it's supposed to be a few times stronger, and therefore more durable and better for shaping weapons."

"All right then. Let me get it all written down." I got a paper from a drawer in the counter and a fountain pen and scribbled down the information, then got up and headed for the door.

_"_I'll be right back!" I called from the door.

"Hurry back!" Liz called back.

_You bet I will!_

When I finally made my way to the marketplace, I started following the directions Lisbeth gave to find the elusive Erich. Food vendors, newspapers, info brokers, and even small-time blacksmiths crowded the four sides and corners of the square, selling whatever they could to passing players and residents. Eventually, I got through the hordes of shoppers and vendors and found the little kiosk in the calmest corner.

The person sitting behind the cluttered counter was a charismatic-looking fellow with light brown hair, tanned skin, and dressed in a dark blue v-neck shirt. As I approached, he stood up and waved.

"Welcome to Erich's Corner Shop! My name is Erich! How may I help you?"

"Hey! My name is Kirito, and I'm here in search of an Orcish smithing hammer. On behalf of Lisbeth."

"Oh, the wonderful blacksmith residing outside of Lindas?" He asked cheerfully.

"That's her!"

"Oh bless her heart! I'm glad she is doing so well she can hire errand boys to fetch things for her!"

*sigh* _Well, at least he thinks I'm just another random player._

"Yeah, she's definitely something special. So you have the hammer?"

"Yes! It is right here! That will be 10,000 col."

He pulled out the dark olive-green hammer and extended his free hand. I materialized Lisbeth's bag of coins and completed the exchange. He emptied the bag and counted the coins, then looked back up at me.

"Have a good day, Black Swordsman!"

_So he did recognize me. I'm glad to know that there are different strangers who think I'm a decent person._

"You too!" I put the hammer away and started walking back to the shop. The Victorian-style city of Lindas was actually a really nice place to just wander aimlessly around. The reddish color pallet used on the city gave it a warm, welcoming feeling. But there was little time to enjoy the scenery; Liz was waiting for the hammer.

Through the city streets, gates, outlying villages, and steppes, I ran until I returned to the Bavarian-style shop. Once I caught my breath, I walked inside the shop.

At the register was Liz, who was just about finished helping out somebody who I'd guess was from the Knights of the Blood Oath guild. By the time I got to the counter, the Knight had finished his transaction and made his way to the exit.

"Hey, you're back!" Lisbeth greeted me as she closed the register drawer. "Erich didn't give you much trouble, did he? While he's a nice vendor, he can really talk your ear off in hopes of selling you something else."

"No, he was really nice. He recognized me without my battle gear on."

"That's good! See? I'm not your only fan in Aincrad!"

I couldn't help but smile and blush as she finished her sentence. To keep her from addressing my red face, I pulled out the hammer and held it out to her.

"I-is this the right one?" I asked.

"Yup! Thanks a lot, Kirito!" She took the hammer and placed it in her inventory.

"Any time, dummy!"

"I'll hold you up to that! Oh! The buyer for Silver's Cry is supposed to be here very soon."

"That's great! I could finally see the clearer whose life we made easier."

Lisbeth stretched and yawned briefly, then nodded her head.

"Tired already, silly? It's only about two o'clock."

"Well yeah... but... it's been an eventful day," she said nervously.

_She's definitely right... we never got to talk about our kiss. With a little down time, I guess now's a decent time to bring it up._

"Hey, listen.. about earlier," I started, reaching across the counter for her hand.

"What about earlier?" she asked, confused about my sudden shift.

_Damn.. I've already started, so I can't go back on it. How do we talk about it? _Is _there anything to talk about? I mean, after a moment she pulled me closer, so it's not like she was against my sudden advance. But then we're back to the question of where that leaves us. I'm such an idiot! Why establish that we're companions who happen to really like and care for each other and then go and kiss her? Damn my social ineptitude._

"About... essentially complicating things with a kiss. You know... we establish each other as companions, then the next second we're locked in each other.."

"It's... okay, Kirito," she responded with a smile. "If anything, things would have been more confusing without it."

She tugged my hand and guided me behind the counter. Next, she wrapped her arms around my neck and brought me in closer.

_What's she planning..._

"If you hadn't pulled me in, I wouldn't have known how you felt about me in here," she moved her right hand and tapped on my chest over my heart.

"But since you did, I know!" She smiled, kissed the corner of my lips, then let me go. "That.. was your first kiss, wasn't it?"

Just like the last time, I had butterflies in my stomach and inability to breath.

_Why does she do this to me? Does she like seeing me freeze when we connect like that?_

All I could do was give a weak nod. Slowly but surely, my breathing pattern normalized.

"A-and you.?" I stammered.

Lisbeth blushed, averted her gaze, and smiled.

"Mhmm... That was my first... And second."

"Second?" I asked.

"Yes!" She cheerfully nodded her head and pulled me back in for another kiss. Though it was over in a matter of seconds, it was just as electrifying as our last. And just like the last, I wished to never have to let go...

_I'm going to protect this girl no matter the enemy... What is she doing to me?_

Just when I was about to pull her in closer (after all, what's the point of wasting these moments when they come?), she separated and pulled away.

"B-be careful, Liz... Or else we might start enjoying it too much," I cautioned as she turned away and blushed.

_If I'm not doing that already... She's going to drive me crazy._

"Oh all right," Liz whined.

Before I could address her pout, the bell apparatus at the door rang.

"It looks like you have a customer," I tilted my head towards the door.

"Oh, hey! Is that the selfish beater!" A familiar, irritating voice filled the shop. "And look at what we have here! My new sword! With plenty of time before the boss raid, too! I'm sorry, was I interrupting something?"

_Oh shit, I remember that voice... Please don't tell me that it's..._

"Hey, don't talk to Kirito like that! You know what? Just pay for your sword and leave!" Lisbeth spat.

I turned my head to the player walking in, donning Steel Plate Armor with a Dragon Skin Shield on his back. His black hair was short and slicked back, and contrasted sharply with his fairly pale complexion. Standing a few centimeters higher than me, he walked up to the front desk across from me and Liz and opened the trade window.

_Wait, this is the jerk I nearly got killed for?! The one who gave Liz a hard time?!_

"I'm sorry," he said mockingly, "100,000 col, as agreed."

"Good." Liz finished the transaction and closed the window. "Now hurry up and leave, Derek! I'm not going to have you starting any problems in my shop."

_So that's the bastard's name. It's kind of funny, he happened to pick a name that sounds like one particular insult in English. For his sake, he'd better hurry the hell up and leave already. Derek doesn't want to know what I'd do to him if he decides to start a problem with me. Hell, I don't even know how far I'd beat on him before letting up._

He picked up the sword from the counter, then gave it a few practice swings in the air behind him.

"It's a little pricy, but I'm sure I'll make it back in commissions in the next week or so," he turned to me, "Was your second sword worth it, dual wielder?"

"Wait, what'd you call me?" I leaned over the counter and asked him. The closer I got, the more I felt my muscles tense up.

_How the hell would he know about my newest skill? I ensured_ nobody_ was around when I was training it!_

He opened up his menu, materialized a record crystal, and brought up a photo of Liz and I fighting the Parvos from last night, with both swords clearly visible in my hands.

_The teleport sound... That little..._

"I must have stuttered. Was your second sword worth it, dual wielder?" He repeated with a smug smile.

_All right, he started a problem._

"Y... you little!" I jumped over the counter, grabbed his collar, and slammed him into the floorboards with my left hand. His head whip-lashed and Silver's Cry gave a _pang_ as it hit the floor next to him. Just as I charged a Meteor melee skill, he started talking.

"What are you going to do?" He calmly asked from the floor, "You wouldn't want to ruin whatever standing you have with Liz here, showing a violent side and whatnot, and you certainly don't want to have to deal with an orange cursor!"

For a split second, I managed to hold myself back.

_Damn it, he's right about the cursor... We're too far outside of the city gates to be protected._

"What the hell were you doing in that cave?! Why were you recording us?!" I demanded, hoping to scare him a bit.

He shook his head and snickered.

"Well, Liz here didn't have the order ready when I came in for an update, giving me some explanation about not having the materials, and so I thought I'd go get the metals myself. As dumb luck had it, you two were in the cave by the time I got there. Since I went through the trouble of finding the cave, I thought I'd put my Sneak skill to good use and watch the Black Swordsman fight. Then suddenly, you start wielding a second blade! I was certain Aincrad would like to hear about somebody with a unique ability, so I-"

_Forget it, I've heard enough. He's going to pay for that!_

I released the Meteor and landed the hit just above his left jaw, sending his head back into the floor. His health went down a sliver, and my cursor went from green to orange. I charged a second to strike him as he recovered from the first hit, but I felt my arm and torso get held back, then quickly pulled away.

"Kirito, you need to stop!" Liz cried out as she eventually ripped me off of Derek.

"And you need to get out of here! Now! Don't think about coming back!" She turned and yelled at him as he got up off of the ground.

"I'm sure the assault team would love to hear about this. If you thought that life as a beater was hard now, you just wait," he said as he retrieved Silver's Cry and sheathed it on his hip. He dusted himself off, rubbed his jaw, and walked out of the store.

_I swear, if he goes and slanders me!_

I started following after him to knock more sense into him when Lisbeth grabbed my left arm and pulled me back.

"What do you think you're going to do?" She asked authoritatively.

I turned towards her, ripped my arm away, and matched her tone.

"I'm going to keep that bastard from making my clearing life even harder than it is now. I don't need everyone knowing that I dual wield, or else I'll never hear the end of it from Aincrad!"

"What, you plan on going after him with an orange cursor? And don't be a jerk to me!" She pointed sternly at my face. "Your problem is with him, not me!"

"So let me go and take care of that problem!"

"Not with your cursor. It'll only make his story more believable," she suggested in a less harsh tone.

"You want me to wait six hours before I go and fix it?!"

"Yes!" The harshness that had left was quickly back, and with friends. "I'm sorry! But as fucked up as things are right now, I can't let you go out and make things worse! I care too much about you to let you go do something stupid!"

She took a deep breath, then continued.

"I know the waiting is going to be hard, but it's either six hours of waiting, or six hours of hell for your 'crime.' Just head upstairs and do your best to wait it out."

_Calm down, Kirito... calm down..._

_I'm not calming down..._

I felt by blood still boiling and my upper body stay tense. Deep down, I know she's right, but that doesn't make it any easier to wait and let him do his damage. By tomorrow, every self-respecting newspaper is going to have that photo of me with my dual blades, and some exaggerated story about it. Everyone who's been tolerating me will see no more reason to, and everyone who vilifies me will do so even more. I should've gotten in that second strike. Maybe even a third. If I could do that much damage to him with a single punch, how much more could I do with my Elucidator and Dark Repulsor in tandem?

_My cursor is already orange, right? Why not make it worth it?_

"Well?" Liz crossed her arms and glared at me.

*sigh* _I can't do that... but it won't stop me from thinking about it. And I'm not going to stay cooped up letting the idea sit either._

"The day just started; everyone will know in a few hours, and I won't return to green until past sundown. No player is going to buy anything from an orange cashier, so there's little sense in me manning the store anymore. I'm not going to waste all that time; I'm going to go train."

"You can't be seen as an orange player!"

"You know how empty the top dungeons are! Besides, anyone in their right mind will stay away from an area that has an orange or red blip. Especially in the front lines."

Lisbeth sighed in resignation and lowered her head.

"Well I can't force you to stay locked up here... Just... Don't do something stupid, okay? That includes things that would cross out your name on Floor 1..."

"All right... I'll be safe... I guess it doesn't matter that I train out in the open now."

"Right... Well, thanks for trusting me with your secret for so long... I knew it meant a lot, just not this much."

"I didn't know either." I turned and started to the door, then looked back. "I guess I'll see you... later."

"Yeah... later." She reluctantly replied and headed back to the counter.

Though the sun was well above the rim of the next floor, the scenery outside the smith shop a bright, vibrant series of colors. Ironic beauty for darker days looming.

_Well fuck... what am I going to do now?_

I grabbed a blue teleport crystal from my belt, and looked up.

_Perhaps this can be a start._

"Teleport, Selmburg!"

* * *

**Author's Note: ****With any luck, I'll get another chapter out before August so you can see how Liz and Kirito's relationship develops over time. When it's all said and done, I'd like to get about ten chapters out of the story of about 6-7k words each. And I'm not stopping until this story reaches an ending!**

**Well, if there's something you'd like to see in the next chapter, or something you like, or dislike, don't hesitate to tell me via PM or review! My job is to entertain and create good writing, and feedback helps make one half of my job easier! Have a great one, everybody, and I'll see you next update. I promise that I won't die -figuratively nor literally- in the meantime.**

**Edit 26 June 2016: A few people pointed out to me that Asuna originally sent Kirito to Lisbeth in the anime, and that it was a little off that I had Klein be the one to do it instead. This is where AllyKat's idea comes into play. By Asuna never having slept next to Kirito in the _Murder in the Safe Zone _side story, she never would've started developing feelings for him and likely stayed the determined, no-nonsense Vice Commander she was up until that point in the canon. By the way, this is another friendly endorsement of "Keeping Me Warm." If you haven't checked it out, I strongly suggest you do; it's too good of a story to have the amount of followers and favorites it does. **


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